Tag: josh willingham

Tribe Paying for Off-Season Sins

After last weekend, when the Pittsburgh Pirates took the last two games of a three game set at home, Cleveland Indians’ fans were irate about the lack of relief pitching and lack of production at the plate.

The Tribe won the next four, and all was right with the world.

Then, the Indians lost the last two games of a road series against the lowly Houston Astros and fans once again are concerned about the lack of relief pitching and lack of production at the plate.

See a trend here?

The Indians problems are not going away, and the team is paying for not addressing the huge need for a quality right-handed bat in the off-season.  They reportedly did not want to give free agent OF Josh Willingham a third year on his deal, and that is proving to be a huge mistake for GM Chris Antonetti.

Wouldn’t Willingham look nice with a “C” on his hat, especially with his .274 batting average, 14 home runs, and 47 RBIs.  By the way, those last two statistics would lead Cleveland in those categories.

Manny Acta’s squad is struggling, particularly against southpaws, because the players on the roster for that purpose in particular aren’t doing the job, and the front office is being extremely, perhaps overly patient.

The only role player on the team to hit lefties that can be considered doing his job is INF Jose Lopez, hitting .262 with 2 HRs against left-handed pitching.  Check out these numbers:

Shelley Duncan             .211, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Aaron Cunningham    .167, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Jason Donald                .095, 0 HR, 1 RBI

In addition, Carlos Santana, one of the two switch-hitters among the everyday players in batting just .209, without a dinger and 10 RBI.

It makes you think that Lou Marson, with a .240 average (6 for 25) should be in there when a lefty takes the mound for the opposition.

Among the regulars, just Asdrubal Cabrera (.316, 3 HR, 12 RBI) and Michael Brantley (.281, o HR, 10 RBI) have respectable numbers.

So why doesn’t the front office make any changes?  Isn’t the definition of insanity the act of doing something over and over again and expecting a different result?

Cunningham is quickly becoming this year’s version of Austin Kearns, as a player who no one can explain is still doing on the major league roster.

Apparently, Cleveland tried to deal for Kevin Youkilis, but with Chicago giving up two players from their major league roster, it was more than the Tribe (and we) would go.

The former Red Sox player wouldn’t have solved the Indians’ issue, but he would have been a start.  Although he has struggled since last year’s All Star game, he is a proven hitter, with a lifetime .286 batting average.

Besides, if he would produce more than Lopez, Duncan, and Cunningham, isn’t that an improvement?

The Tribe front office spin is they would need more than one bat, which they do, but is that a reason not to take any action?

Sometimes it appears the Indians’ management is in some kind of fantasy world, spouting out stats like Casey Kotchman is 7 for 21 in his last six games.

So what!  He’s hitting .230 over the last month and .225 overall.  He’s just not producing enough for a contending team, especially at a position where hitting is needed.

By the way, over the last 30 days, check out these batting averages for the role players on the Indians:

Duncan     .189
Lopez        .186
Cunningham  .150

Besides getting no production out of the right-handed hitters on the squad, the bench isn’t doing anything either.  That makes it concerning for the starters going into the heat of the summer.  Acta can’t give them a day off, because whoever he puts in, isn’t able to hit.

The Cleveland Indians have made their proverbial bed, and now are forced to lay in it.  Unfortunately, the front office is comfortable, because they don’t seem anxious to get a new mattress.

MW

Looking for Right Handed Bats?

As the baseball season approaches the middle of June, it looks more and more that the American League Central Division is very much up for grabs, meaning the Cleveland Indians have as good a shot as any team.

Right now, the pitching has been the biggest problem, ranking 12th in the league in ERA, but if recent outings by Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson are any indication of the future, that area may take care of itself.

Jimenez has begun to throw strikes, throwing 13-2/3 innings in his last two starts, walking just one batter.  Keep in mind, prior to those two outings, he led all AL pitchers in allowing bases on balls. Clearly, whatever Scott Radinsky worked on in delaying the big righty before these starts worked.

Masterson hasn’t received any run support, but has pitched well in his last two efforts, allowing just 4 earned runs in 13 innings.

If these two have turned the corner, it means the biggest need for the Tribe is a right-handed stick.

It doesn’t figure that the Indians are going to get Albert Pujols, or someone of that ilk.  In order to figure out who may be available, the first thing to look at is who has fallen out of contention.

A quick look at the standings show three teams currently more than 10 games out of first place, and all three are in the National League:  Chicago, Colorado, and San Diego.

The next thing to look at is the players contract situation.  It’s unlikely a team will deal someone with a reasonable deal for a short-term.  That’s why the Josh Willingham trade rumors don’t make sense, unless the Twins can get a boatload of high level prospects.

Looking at the Cubs’ roster, the name that stands out is Alfonso Soriano, now 36-years-old, but with two more full seasons on a bloated contract.  The more a team assumes dollar wise, the less they will have to give up in terms of prospects.

Soriano isn’t a high batting average or on base percentage guy (lifetime .274, but hasn’t hit that high since 2008), but he does hit for power, with ten straight 20 home run campaigns.  And he looks like he’s on his way to an 11th with 12 HR’s this season.

It’s unlikely the Indians would want to add those kind of dollars for 2013 and 2014, but remember Travis Hafner’s deal comes off the books at the end of this season.  Oh, and Soriano happens to play LF, a gaping, sucking hole for Cleveland.

A lower cost option from Chicago could be OF Reed Johnson, who can play all three OF spots.  He’s a lifetime .283 hitter, whose average against lefties is .310 for his career with an 823 OPS.  He would fit in nicely as a platoon player.

The Rockies don’t look like a good fit for the Indians, because the guys they might be looking to deal are left-handed hitters (Todd Helton, Jason Giambi) or in Michael Cuddyer’s case, just recently signed.

The Padres have two intriguing possibilities in OF Carlos Quentin (formerly of the White Sox) and utility OF Chris Denorfia.

Quentin, 29, is signed to a one year deal, and has had the Tribe’s interest before.  Then GM Mark Shapiro tried to get him from Arizona after the 2007 season when he was eventually dealt to the White Sox.

In 2008, Quentin was a legitimate MVP candidate until he broke his hand late in the year against the Indians.

He has belted 2o home runs every year since that 2008 campaign, and although he doesn’t hit for a great average (.255 lifetime), he gets on base good enough via walks and getting hit by pitches (he’s been hit at least 15 times in each of the last four years).

Denorfia can play all three OF spots and is a lifetime .274 hitter (743 OPS).  However, against left-handers, he’s a .306 hitter with a 798 OPS.  He’s another guy who could fit in a platoon situation.

What can the Tribe give up?  They do have good organizational depth in the bullpen and the middle infield.  They won’t consider dealing last year’s first round pick and top prospect SS Francisco Lindor, but they do have two players at Class A Carolina in Tony Wolters and Ronny Rodriguez who have good futures.

And don’t forget 2B Cord Phelps, who continues to put up solid AAA numbers, but is blocked by Jason Kipnis.

More teams will drop out of contention by the end of July as the trading deadline nears.  But if GM Chris Antonetti wants help right away, he can find some nice possibilities on the three teams mentioned here.

MW