Tag: cleveland indians

Has Tribe Done Enough This Off-Season?

The last time the Cleveland Indians made the playoffs prior to 2013 was in 2007, when Eric Wedge led the Tribe to the American League Championship Series, losing to the eventual World Champion Red Sox (managed by Terry Francona) in seven games.

After that season, then GM Mark Shapiro basically hibernated.  The lone transaction of note was acquiring utility infielder Jamey Carroll from Colorado. 

Later in spring training, Shapiro added left-handed reliever Craig Breslow on waivers from the Boston Red Sox.

That was it. 

Many fans and baseball experts were critical of the Indians for not following up a Central Division championship season by strengthening the ballclub.

That brings us to 2014.

After a terrific month of September that sort of ignited baseball interest in Cleveland, GM Chris Antonetti hasn’t made a big splash in terms of getting help for his baseball team. 

The biggest moves were signing OF David Murphy and reliever John Axford as free agents and trading OF Drew Stubbs for lefty reliever Josh Outman.

That won’t have fans flocking for ticket booths.

Now, we liked the Murphy pick up because it appears that the 2013 season was a blip on years of being a solid hitter, and Stubbs was superfluous because of that signing.  Axford’s had some good years as a closer, but didn’t have the job last season. But it isn’t enough to have people excited about the Tribe.

Nor does it offset the loss of starting pitcher Scott Kazmir and the real possibility that Ubaldo Jimenez, the team’s best pitcher down the stretch, will be elsewhere this season.

The organization will explain things away with the usual discussion about the economics of the game, but they won’t tell you where the money from the sale of SportsTime Ohio and the new televsion contract is, and skipper Terry Francona will tell everyone that this team can and will compete for the division title this season.

And truth be told, Antonetti has done a good job bringing some low risk, high reward free agents such as pitchers Shaun Marcum and David Aardsma, and OFs Jeff Francoeur, and Nyjer Morgan. 

He did the same last season in getting Ryan Raburn, Kazmir, and Jason Giambi, and those moves worked out pretty well.

We still believe the Tribe will sign another starting pitcher before spring training begins, now that the Yankees have signed Masahiro Tanaka, thus freeing up the market for starters. 

That’s why we said it’s a possibility that Jimenez will be gone.

Maybe the attitude brought here by Francona and the veteran leadership he brought in last year will indeed allow the Indians to battle into the playoffs in 2014.

Still, if the team slips back to the .500 mark, people will point to the relative inactivity by Antonetti as the reason for the decline in the Tribe’s win total.

While we agree with not trading the system’s top two prospects, SS Francisco Lindor and OF Clint Frazier, the organization is ranking in the middle of the pack among all major league farm systems, meaning there are players desirable to other teams.

Why not trade one of these pieces to get another proven bat or another starting pitcher, players who could vault the Tribe into the favorite role in the division?

Instead, they have chosen the conservative route once again.  The path that doesn’t get a fan base excited.

There seems to be a parallel to 2007.  Let’s hope for a different result the season after a playoff berth.

KM

Time for Tribe to Honor Albert Belle

Over the last few years, the Cleveland Indians have honored several of the players from their playoff teams of the late 90’s by putting them into the club’s Hall of Fame.

Sandy Alomar Jr. was the first to go in, fitting because he was the first piece of the puzzle when the Tribe traded for him after the 1990 season.

Kenny Lofton and Charles Nagy quickly followed him and last year, Carlos Baerga received the honor. 

And there is no doubt that Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez will be inducted some day very soon, but their playing days ended too recently to be considered.

However, there is one name that is missing.  The central figure for the first few years of the winning seasons including the strike shortened 1994 season and the American League Championship team of 1995.

It is time for the Indians to put Albert Belle in the franchise’s Hall of Fame.

We realize Belle’s departure from Cleveland as a free agent after the 1996 season was not exactly friendly and he antagonized the fan base when he came back to the lakefront as a member of the White Sox in subsequent visits.  But you can’t ignore the fact that he’s one of the best players ever to wear an Indian uniform.

The slugger hit 242 home runs with the Tribe, leaving town as the franchise leader (he was passed by Jim Thome), and hit .295 with a 949 OPS in 913 games as a member of the team.

He led the American League in runs batted in three times with Cleveland, as well as leading the AL once in home runs, doubles, and runs scored once in his tenure here.

And in his last three seasons on the north coast, he finished second twice and third once in the MVP voting.

Of course, baseball historians will wonder years from now why Belle didn’t win the award in 1995 when he batted .317 (8th in the league) with 50 HR (led league) and 126 RBI (tied for AL lead) on the best team by far in the junior circuit.

He hit at least 34 home runs the last five seasons in Cleveland, and knocked in at least 100 runs in those seasons as well.  The significance of that is the 1994 season, the strike season, lasted only 113 games. 

Yes, Belle was a controversial figure to be sure.  He was suspended early in his career for different issues, and was once sat down because of a corked bat.

However, we also may have been the most studious players in the game when it came to his craft.  He studied opposing pitchers and made adjustments. 

In game five of the ’95 World Series, Belle went to school on new Hall of Famer Greg Maddux’ pitching him away and homered to right field in the first inning. 

There is no question when you went to an Indians’ game in those days; you waited in your seat for Albert Belle to come to the plate.  If you were at home, you made sure you were watching when Belle was hitting.

He was a “must see” player.

The Indians haven’t announced their honoree for the 2014 season yet, and the lately the antagonism between the Tribe and Belle has softened, so maybe he will get the nod.

But if they aren’t considering Albert Belle, they should.  And we have a feeling when Belle is inducted, the fans will respond with a thunderous ovation. 

Cleveland is a forgiving city, and they want to open their arms for the most exciting player to wear a Tribe uniform over the last 50 years.

MW

Time for Tribe to Honor Albert Belle

Over the last few years, the Cleveland Indians have honored several of the players from their playoff teams of the late 90’s by putting them into the club’s Hall of Fame.

Sandy Alomar Jr. was the first to go in, fitting because he was the first piece of the puzzle when the Tribe traded for him after the 1990 season.

Kenny Lofton and Charles Nagy quickly followed him and last year, Carlos Baerga received the honor. 

And there is no doubt that Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez will be inducted some day very soon, but their playing days ended too recently to be considered.

However, there is one name that is missing.  The central figure for the first few years of the winning seasons including the strike shortened 1994 season and the American League Championship team of 1995.

It is time for the Indians to put Albert Belle in the franchise’s Hall of Fame.

We realize Belle’s departure from Cleveland as a free agent after the 1996 season was not exactly friendly and he antagonized the fan base when he came back to the lakefront as a member of the White Sox in subsequent visits.  But you can’t ignore the fact that he’s one of the best players ever to wear an Indian uniform.

The slugger hit 242 home runs with the Tribe, leaving town as the franchise leader (he was passed by Jim Thome), and hit .295 with a 949 OPS in 913 games as a member of the team.

He led the American League in runs batted in three times with Cleveland, as well as leading the AL once in home runs, doubles, and runs scored once in his tenure here.

And in his last three seasons on the north coast, he finished second twice and third once in the MVP voting.

Of course, baseball historians will wonder years from now why Belle didn’t win the award in 1995 when he batted .317 (8th in the league) with 50 HR (led league) and 126 RBI (tied for AL lead) on the best team by far in the junior circuit.

He hit at least 34 home runs the last five seasons in Cleveland, and knocked in at least 100 runs in those seasons as well.  The significance of that is the 1994 season, the strike season, lasted only 113 games. 

Yes, Belle was a controversial figure to be sure.  He was suspended early in his career for different issues, and was once sat down because of a corked bat.

However, we also may have been the most studious players in the game when it came to his craft.  He studied opposing pitchers and made adjustments. 

In game five of the ’95 World Series, Belle went to school on new Hall of Famer Greg Maddux’ pitching him away and homered to right field in the first inning. 

There is no question when you went to an Indians’ game in those days; you waited in your seat for Albert Belle to come to the plate.  If you were at home, you made sure you were watching when Belle was hitting.

He was a “must see” player.

The Indians haven’t announced their honoree for the 2014 season yet, and the lately the antagonism between the Tribe and Belle has softened, so maybe he will get the nod.

But if they aren’t considering Albert Belle, they should.  And we have a feeling when Belle is inducted, the fans will respond with a thunderous ovation. 

Cleveland is a forgiving city, and they want to open their arms for the most exciting player to wear a Tribe uniform over the last 50 years.

MW

Small Moves, Good Moves for Tribe

The baseball winter meetings came and went for the Cleveland Indians without any moves. 

However, in the week after the get together, the Tribe started adding some pieces, mostly to upgrade the pitching staff, and in particular, the bullpen.

First, GM Chris Antonetti added reliever John Axford, presumably to be the leading candidate to be the closer. 

The right-hander led the National League in saves in 2011 with 46 for the Brewers and had 35 more in ’12.  That year, his home runs allowed started to rise and last year, his strikeouts dropped to just one per inning.

Keep in mind; he fanned 179 in 143 innings in ’11 and ’12 combined. 

He pitched well for the Cardinals down the stretch and in the post-season after being traded to them last season.

We feel he is in the same position as Vinnie Pestano, a pitcher who has had a great deal of success for two or three years, and simply just had a bad season.  It wouldn’t be a surprise if both hurlers didn’t bounce back in 2014.

He averaged 95 MPH on his fastball last year, so his troubles weren’t a result of losing his stuff.

A few days later, the Indians signed RHP Shaun Marcum to a minor league deal.  Marcum has had success in the past in Toronto and Milwaukee but had some circulation troubles last year with the Mets.  Those problems were taken care of with surgery, so he should be ready.

Marcum is typical of the low risk, high reward signings Antonetti specializes in.  Certainly, the Tribe’s success in taking care of rehabbing pitchers probably draws pitchers who are coming off injuries. 

If the right-hander is sound, he can be a middle of the rotation starter.  He’s basically this year’s version of Scott Kazmir, and much like him, he’s not a guy Terry Francona can count on going into spring training, so the Indians still need rotation help.

Yesterday, Antonetti pulled off a deal, sending OF Drew Stubbs to Colorado for LHP Josh Outman, a LOOGY.  Stubbs is a fourth outfielder type with good speed, a good glove, and a guy who strikes out a ton.

Outman will help in the bullpen, as he held left-handed hitters to a batting average under .200 for his career.  He will take Rich Hill’s place in the ‘pen.

What the Stubbs deal really does is free up money.  The outfielder would have received somewhere between $3-$4 million in arbitration had he went that route, so trading him frees up that money in the Cleveland budget.

(Of course, we’ll ask again…where did that national television contract cash go?)

That money should help in getting a legitimate starting pitcher to slot between Justin Masterson and Danny Salazar in the rotation.  And if that’s the case, then the trade is really a no-brainer.

With the addition of David Murphy and the likelihood that he and Ryan Raburn will platoon in right field, Stubbs became superfluous. 

And the Indians, in their mid-market situation, can’t afford to pay players who won’t get a lot of at bats, $3 million per year.

We still see a big acquisition this winter for the Tribe, probably a starter, and dealing Stubbs is a step in that direction.  Picking up a guy who can be a useful relief pitcher is icing on the cake.

Remember that last year, fans scoffed at getting players like Kazmir, Jason Giambi, and Raburn.  They worked out in these cases, but seriously, what’s the harm in taking a chance on guys like them.

Hopefully, one of the players who joined the organization this week can have the same effect on the 2014 Tribe.

KM

Shapiro’s Comments On Spending Are Concerning

Over the weekend, Cleveland Indians team president Mark Shapiro had an interview with MLB radio in which he talked about the future of his team.

Among the things he said was that the Indians did their spending last season when they inked Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn.

This is troubling because if ever there were time to go the extra mile in spending, it would be this winter. 

The Indians made the playoffs last season and won 92 games.  With the Browns ending another terrible season and the Cavs still below .500, a solid winter would get fans excited about the 2014 baseball season.

Nothing like throwing a wet blanket on the fan base.

Look, we understand the Indians cannot have a $100 million payroll, but Baseball Reference.com estimates they will spend $81.1 million on players next season. 

Why can’t they get closer to $90 million?

Last year, the organization said they were able to sign Swisher and later Bourn because of the sale of Sportstime Ohio to Fox.  That’s great!

However, this year teams are reaping the benefits of the new national television contracts, which put an additional $25 million in each team’s pockets.  Even though the Swisher and Bourn deals get heavier in this, their second year, ownership should be able to spend a little more because of this windfall.

The problem is management, mostly Shapiro, continue to talk about financial constraints.  They think they are being honest and forthright, but to fans’ ears they sound like excuses. 

We believe most Tribe fans get that the team can’t spend like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers.  Still, supporters of the team would like them to be aggressive and build on the positive momentum created in September.

Not hear the team president talk about the financial constraints of major league baseball.

We haven’t been upset with the signings the Indians have made this off-season.  We’ve talked about how we liked David Murphy, and inking John Axford to a one-year deal to be a contender to replace Chris Perez as closer makes a lot of sense.

But the Tribe still needs to find two starting pitchers to make up for the loss of Scott Kazmir and the likely loss of Ubaldo Jimenez.  And now, getting Shaun Marcum doesn’t make up for one spot, although he’s another low risk, high reward deal for the Tribe.

Are the Indians willing to spend a significant chunk of money to get a proven major league starting pitcher?  They should be, because they have to be thinking about getting back to the post-season, and this time as a division winner.

Most of the free agent signings in baseball this winter have been players to ridiculous contracts, and we are glad the Indians aren’t involved. 

The beef here (and always has been) the constant bringing up the availability of money with the Cleveland organization.  Other teams in small markets put out competitive teams every year, like Tampa Bay and Oakland. 

Those organizations are bold and creative. 

The Indians need to adopt those teams’ philosophies of maximizing the performance of their highly paid players.  If you are paying big money to a player, he simply has to produce.

Really, it comes down to this.  Stop talking, and just improve the ballclub.  And maybe, just maybe, the Tribe will be the popular team in Cleveland once again.

MW

Lack of Depth in System Hurts Tribe’s Ability to Deal

The recent drafting history of the Cleveland Indians hasn’t been good.  Several people have written about the fact that since 2000, the only star player picked on the first round by the Tribe has been C.C. Sabathia.

A look at the current roster shows Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall among the everyday players originally picked by the Tribe, and the only pitchers of note drafted or originally signed by Cleveland are Cody Allen and Danny Salazar. 

That’s one reason the Indians find it difficult to make trades during the off-season. 

The way to get established players is the ability to deal major league ready talent for them.  And right now, the Indians have precious few of them.

Currently, the two prizes of the farm system are SS Francisco Lindor and OF Clint Frazier, coincidentally, the first round draft picks in 2011 and 2013 respectively. 

They are both considered in the top 20 prospects in all of the minor leagues, and with the lack of quality in the system; there isn’t any way that GM Chris Antonetti can use either of them as trade chips.

The other factor working against the Tribe is that none of their top prospects, save for Trevor Bauer, have played a game at the AAA level.

That means any team dealing for a top prospect from the Indians would have to wait awhile before seeing the fruits of the trade. 

That’s a tough sell for a team dealing a quality player.

Where the Indians do have some depth is in bullpen arms, which normally aren’t going to fetch a quality major league player.  They also have some middle infield depth though, and other teams could be interested in that.

According to Baseball Prospectus, five of the Tribe’s top 10 prospects are middle infielders.  Besides Lindor, Cleveland could afford to deal one of these players:  #6 prospect 2B Jose Ramirez, #7 SS Ronny Rodriguez, #8 Dorssys Paulino (although he may be moved to the outfield because of defense), and #9 2B Joe Wendle.

This publication rates the Cleveland farm system as thin in top flight talent, but loves the two guys at the top of the organization’s system.

The only pitchers listed in the top ten are RHP Cody Anderson, who was at Akron in 2013, and RHP Dace Kime, who was just drafted last summer.

In order to get a high-caliber player, let’s say David Price, you have to be able to give up a big name prospect.  Do the Indians have that player because they aren’t dealing Lindor and/or Frazier, nor should they?

It is doubtful that Tampa Bay would deal the former Cy Young Award winner for #3 prospect OF Tyler Naquin (’12 first round choice) and say Rodriguez, who could be dealt because he is blocked by Lindor.

That’s why it is a huge priority for the organization to stock the farm system, and with two first round picks this June, assuming Ubaldo Jimenez signs elsewhere, there is a solid opportunity to do just that.

This isn’t to say it is impossible for Antonetti to pull off major trade, but it does make it more difficult. 

Part of having a good farm system is not only being able to add young talent to the big league roster, but it also enables a team to make trades.

When the younger talent in the Cleveland organization gets closer to the majors, they will be in a better position.

KM

Signing Murphy Another Solid Move

The Cleveland Indians made a wise decision to sign former Texas Rangers OF David Murphy to a two year contract the other day.

Yes, Murphy is coming off a bad season in which he hit .220 with 13 HR and 45 RBI with a 646 OPS in 2013, but if he hit like he has for the rest of his career, his asking price would have been much higher.

Prior to last season, his lowest OPS in any season in which he played 100 or more games was 729.  This happened in 2011, when he still hit .275 with 11 home runs.

For his career, he’s a .275 hitter with an OPS of 778.  Now, since he played in Texas, an extreme hitter’s ballpark, his numbers could have been inflated, but he hit .284 in Arlington and .266 on the road, not a drastic difference.

To be fair, he did show more power in the Texas ballpark.

We know that Terry Francona likes to platoon if he has two players where it works and he seems to have that with Ryan Raburn and Murphy in right field.

Against right-handers, Murphy is a .280 hitter with a .347 on base percentage and a .469 slugging percentage.  That makes him an outstanding offensive player against those pitchers.

Another thing we like about Murphy is that he puts the bat on the ball, striking out around 70-80 times per season every year since 2009. And as an added bonus, in 21 career games at Progressive Field, he hit .365 with 3 homers.

What this move means going forward is that Drew Stubbs will likely not be on the roster after December 2nd, when teams have to offer players arbitration for next season. 

Stubbs, acquired last season in the Shin-Soo Choo three-way deal, gave the Tribe plus defense and speed, but struggled at the plate. 

It is doubtful the front office will want to pay him the $3-4 million he would likely get next season to be a part-time player/defensive replacement. 

The Indians could also move Stubbs to centerfield and see what interest there is in Michael Bourn on the trade market.  While this is unlikely, if GM Chris Antonetti wants to make a big splash in a trade or on a free agent, he would probably have to move a big contract.

Bourn was bothered by injuries, but he also didn’t have a good season, hitting just .263 on the season with an on-base percentage of .316, poor for a leadoff hitter.  His OPS also dropped to 676, meaning he was a below average offensive player.

He’ll play next season at age 31, and his game is predicated on his speed, management may take a chance on moving him before his value decreases more.

Again, if Bourn is dealt it means the Tribe is freeing up money for a big time move.  Otherwise, look for the veteran to be back in Cleveland in 2014 and leading off hoping to rebound from an off-season.

The next move for Antonetti will likely involve the pitching staff because the Indians have holes to fill in both the starting rotation and the bullpen.  You have to believe Terry Francona wants a couple of veterans in those areas to replace guys like Ubaldo Jimenez and Joe Smith.

This isn’t going to be like last winter, when the Tribe signed Nick Swisher and Bourn.  But if they keep making solid moves like the Murphy signing, it will be a good hot stove season on the North Coast.

KM

Tribe Needs to Spend, but Spend Wisely

Baseball’s General Managers’ Meetings take place this week, and thus the first trade rumors and maybe the first trade of the season will take place.

The first free agent signing may also happen.

Already, outrageous contracts are being talked about and the sabermetric people are justifying large contract demands for guys like Ricky Nolasco and Ervin Santana, based on what other players comparable to them received in the past.

The Cleveland Indians will stay away for these long-term, big money deals for pitchers who are a little above average.  Not because they the ownership doesn’t want to spend the cash, but because they don’t make economic sense.

Yes, baseball is flush with cash because of the new television contract, and even the Tribe should be able to spend more than they normally would because of it.  However, it won’t mean going crazy with deals that will hamstring the franchise’s ability to improve in the future.

We have written before the reason to make the qualifying offer to Ubaldo Jimenez is because it is a one year deal, and even if the right-hander goes back to 2012 form, the Indians can walk away after the season.

For proof, look at the contracts signed by Mark Reynolds and Brett Myers last season.  Yes, it didn’t work out, but no harm, no foul.  They were one year deals and they are over with.  No problem going forward for GM Chris Antonetti.

It doesn’t make financial sense to give a five-year deal to a pitcher with a lifetime record of 89-75 and an ERA of 4.37 (Nolasco) or one who has a career mark of 105-90 with an ERA of 4.19 (Santana).

Instead, the Tribe may look toward older pitchers for a one or two-year deal to compliment Justin Masterson, Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar, and Zack McAllister in the rotation.  That’s why you’ve heard them connected on some sites to Tim Hudson (38 years old), Bronson Arroyo (37),  and Bartolo Colon (41).

They may also take a shot on Josh Johnson, who has had some injury problems in the past, but will be just 30 years old next season.

Of course, they are still involved with trying to re-sign Scott Kazmir, who would like a three-year deal, and currently Antonetti is offering one.  Looks like there is room for a compromise at two years (which we would do) with a club option for a third season.

The same goes for the bullpen, which could be losing Joe Smith, Matt Albers, and Rich Hill, and have already cut loose Chris Perez.  The one area were the Tribe has organization depth is in the bullpen with C.C. Lee, Preston Guilmet, and Blake Wood, who appeared with the Indians last season, and relievers like Tyler Sturdivant, Austin Adams, Shawn Armstrong, and lefty Kyle Crockett, who was drafted last year, on the horizon.

And don’t forget Vinnie Pestano, who could make a comeback after his lost 2013 season.  He wouldn’t be the first relief pitcher to have several good years, a horrible one, and then regain his effectiveness.

That’s why we would be shocked if the Indians contacted free agent reliever Joe Nathan, who will be 39 next year.  This is not to say Nathan won’t be effective next season, but Antonetti can afford to spend the money in other places than at closer, where they have in-house alternatives like Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw.

The Indians will be active again this off-season, because that’s the new way of the organization since Terry Francona has come aboard.  They will try to make the playoffs every year.

But the basic ideas of the organization will remain the same, and that is maintaining payroll flexibility.  That means no huge deals to players who are a bit better than average.

MW

Tribe Starts Hot Stove Season Positively

The Cleveland Indians made their first moves of baseball’s off-season and they should have surprised absolutely no one. 

First, the Tribe inked DH Jason Giambi to a minor league contract and there is no doubt that if he is healthy next spring, he will be on the Opening Day roster on March 31st in his old stomping ground in Oakland.

The grizzled veteran hit just .183, but did hit 9 HR and knocked in 31 runs, many of them key.

He had perhaps the biggest hit down the stretch with his dramatic pinch hit two run homer off of Chicago’s Addison Reed to turn a 4-3 potential loss into a 5-4 victory.

Anyone who has read the book that Terry Francona did with Dan Shaughnessy about his years in Boston understands how much the skipper values veterans who provide leadership like Giambi. 

The guess here is that as long as “Big G” can get around on a fastball, he will have a spot on a Francona led team.

GM Chris Antonetti also announced the Indians were cutting ties with closer Chris Perez.  While the speculation will be it is because of his poor finish to the season and his off field problems, it really comes down to just dollars and cents.

If the Tribe was to keep Perez for 2014, they likely would have had to pay him in excess of $8 million, an amount way too exorbitant based on his productivity. 

The shame of it is the Indians should have dealt Perez each of the last two seasons, because the signs he was losing effectiveness were there. 

His strikeout to innings pitched ratio had declined, and at that time, Cleveland had a viable alternative in Vinnie Pestano, who was making a lot less than Perez, thus freeing up cash for other needs.

As it is, Antonetti and Francona have several in-house options to close out games, including Pestano if his arm bounces back, along with Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw. 

Former Indians’ GM John Hart used to say that closers fall out of trees, and when you think about it, there aren’t a lot of teams who pay closers huge sums of money.  This is mostly because they aren’t effective for long periods with Mariano Rivera being the exception.

The Indians completed the trio of moves by getting LHP Colt Hynes from San Diego.  Hynes spent the second half of last year with the Padres, compiling a 9.00 ERA, which hardly sounds impressive.

However, he did hold left-handed hitters to 5 for 32 with six walks, making him a classic LOOGY (left-handed one out guy).  He may be designated for assignment as the Indians make room on the 40 man roster before the winter meetings, but if he goes to spring training he has a chance to supplant Rich Hill in the bullpen.

The news today that Ubaldo Jimenez turned out his option for next year is no surprise either, and Cleveland will make him a qualifying offer by Monday to ensure draft pick compensation.

Jimenez will likely get a four or five-year contract offer from somewhere, and the Tribe is right in staying away from that length of deal based on the pitcher’s volatile career while here.

The hot stove season started as soon as the World Series ended for the Cleveland Indians.  After a couple of days, things are going according to plan.

KM

Tribe Bats Just Couldn’t Come Through.

The Cleveland Indians were a hot ball club coming into tonight’s wild card game against Tampa Bay, winning 10 in a row and going 21-6 in the month of September.

This is more evidence that baseball is a funny game.

The 4-0 loss that eliminated Cleveland came down to the Rays taking advantage of their chances and the Indians not being able to go so.

After a dominant first two innings, Danny Salazar gave up a leadoff home run to famed humanitarian Delmon Young, and after that, the young flamethrower lost his ability to get guys to swing and miss.

He escaped the third allowing just the one run, but Desmond Jennings’ double down the leftfield line with two outs in the 4th gave the Rays a 3-0 lead.

After that, the Indians had threats in pretty much every frame after that, but couldn’t push a run across.

In the fourth, with bases loaded and one out, Asdrubal Cabrera hit into a double play.

In the fifth, the Indians had runners on first and third with no one out, and Michael Bourn struck out, Nick Swisher hit into a fielders’ choice, and Jason Kipnis hit a comebacker to the mound to end that threat.

In the seventh, one out singles by Yan Gomes and Lonnie Chisenhall, who had three hits on the night, went for naught when Bourn flew out and Swisher fanned again.

All in all, Cleveland collected nine hits on the night, and couldn’t push a run across.

That’s the nature of baseball though.  Sometimes, you get the big hits and sometimes you don’t.  The Indians just picked a bad night to be on the wrong side of that statement.

To be sure, many of the national pundits will bring up Terry Francona’s team’s record against teams with an above .500 record as a reason for the loss and say the Tribe didn’t deserve to make the playoffs.

That’s a load of crap.  Cleveland won 92 games this season.  If any other team had won that many contests, the same people would have clamored to add another wild card so teams with that kind of record can advance to the playoffs.

For those who want to question the decision to start the rookie, Salazar, in this game, keep in mind the Indians still had a chance to win this game until a couple of defensive miscues gave the Rays a fourth run in the top of the ninth.

Salazar, and the guys who followed him, Mark Rzepczynski, the seemingly always reliable Bryan Shaw, Justin Masterson, Cody Allen, and Joe Smith pitched well enough to give the offense a shot.  They simply couldn’t get the big base knock.

You can’t win any games when you don’t score a run, and although they hit the ball fairly hard tonight, no one crossed home plate.

Tampa manager Joe Maddon said before the game that his team catches a lot of line drives, and they certainly lived up to their skipper’s prediction.

We will discuss the Indians’ future at a later time, but there is no question the 2013 season was a huge step forward for the Indians.  Here’s hoping they build on it over the long winter.

MW