Tag: matt laporta

Tribe Needs to Keep Moving Forward

In the past few weeks, really since they were in the middle of their 11 game losing streak, the Cleveland Indians are playing for next season.

They’ve released four veteran players and replaced them with younger guys, trying to get a head start on talent evaluation for 2013.  We’ve seen Corey Kluber have one good start and two clinkers, Chris Seddon (who’s actually kind of veteran, he’s 28) has had one good start and one so-so outing, and Ezequiel Carrera has shown Tribe fans that leftfielders can get hits every once in a while.

However, they shouldn’t stop there.  When Travis Hafner went out with a back injury, manager Manny Acta said Shelley Duncan would get the bulk of the at bats at the DH spot.  Why, exactly would the team want to do that?

Look, Duncan’s a hard worker, and Acta has a soft spot for him.  But he’s 32 years old, and is 3 for 22 in the month of August.  Wouldn’t it be better for the future if the organization gave those at bats to someone else?

For that matter, why should Casey Kotchman and Jack Hannahan continue to garner playing time.  These two players, and Duncan, aren’t likely to be on the roster next season.  And if they are, then the front office should have a lot of explaining to do.

The Indians keep looking for the player who batted .300 a year ago, but it’s quite obvious that guy isn’t showing up.  His batting average continues to hover in the .220’s, and he shows no signs of having a hot streak.

Hannahan hit .250 a year ago, but he’s a lifetime .231 hitter, and his average this season is….231!  And since May 1st, he’s batting just .205.  Yes, he’s excellent with the glove, but he can’t hit big league pitching consistently.

It’s time to take a good look, not a September 1st call up, at players like Matt LaPorta, Russ Canzler, and Tim Fedroff.

We are stressing not waiting until the rosters can be expanded because of the baseball axiom to ignore what you see in April and September.  Tribe management can get a good look at these players for almost 50 games.

On LaPorta, to be sure some of you are saying “not again”.  But the Indians front office have to find out once and for all if he can be a productive big league hitter.  He can garner almost 200 at bats the rest of the season.

If he hits, great.  If he doesn’t, then the ballclub can release him with a clear conscience.  However, they simply have to find out.

Canzler has been on fans’ wish lists since spring training when he hit the ball with authority.  Dismissed by some as a “AAAA” hitter, he’s had just three major league at bats.  Let’s find out if he can be a contributor in ’13.

Fedroff is 25 and has never reached the majors despite being a .297 lifetime hitter in the minor leagues.  His problem is that he’s not a power guy with only 21 HR’s in five minor league seasons.

Along the same thought, it’s also time for Jeanmar Gomez to come back up and take a regular turn in the rotation.  He’s 6-2 with a 2.59 ERA at Columbus, and had a better ERA in Cleveland than Josh Tomlin, Derek Lowe, and even Ubaldo Jimenez.  For a team needing starting pitching next season, he should be getting an opportunity.

It’s probably something than Acta and GM Chris Antonetti don’t want to admit, but this season has set sail and it’s time to move forward to 2013.  Giving these players a chance now would be helpful in that regard.

KM

Can A Manager Have Favorites?

With Jack Hannahan coming off the disabled list soon, it appears that Lonnie Chisenhall will be on his way back to Columbus when that happens.

The question is did the youngster get a fair shot while he was on the roster?

Chisenhall hasn’t set the world on fire since his recall on May 28th, hitting just .216 in 37 at bats.  But is his lack of production based on the way he was used?

He came up and started his first two games, before being put on the bench in his third game with the big club.  He was used as a pinch-hitter in that game.

He has pretty much been in the lineup for two days, then out the next since then.  For a player used to playing every day in the minor leagues, you have to wonder why he wasn’t used that way in Cleveland.

Manager Manny Acta has sat him down against left-handers, even though Chisenhall has hit .271 with 3 home runs in 48 at bats vs. left-handed starters in his career.

Yes, Chisenhall has issues with the strike zone (54 whiffs vs. 8 walks in 249 at bats) in his young career, but shouldn’t he get the opportunity to be in the lineup everyday?

It could be because Acta feels more comfortable playing veterans like Jack Hannahan, Jose Lopez, and Casey Kotchman if it all possible.

Think about it, what young player did the skipper give a full shot to unless there was no alternative?

The only one you can name is Jason Kipnis, who seemed to be an everyday player from the moment he was called up to the Indians.

Carlos Santana might qualify as well, but Lou Marson was hitting .191 at the time of Santana’s big league debut, so Acta didn’t have a huge choice.

A lot of managers have preferences in terms of playing time, but most of them have to do with production.  As the season plays out, we will see if this is true for Manny Acta.

It would appear to most fans that Acta doesn’t care for the games of Matt LaPorta and Chisenhall.  Granted, neither one is knocking down fences with the regularity of Babe Ruth, but the Tribe have some guys currently getting a lot of playing time without production.

For example, LaPorta’s career stats (.237 batting average, 697 OPS) are better than what Shelley Duncan is doing this season, .208, 649 OPS).  Wouldn’t you give the former a legitimate chance to play LF, 1B, and DH?

Instead, he was sent back to Columbus today.

This is not to suggest that LaPorta is the answer to the Tribe’s right-handed hitting woes.  It is merely to suggest he may be a better alternative than Duncan right now.

The Hannahan situation could be resolved by playing him at first base and shelving the Kotchman experiment.  We are now 60 games into the season, and the veteran glove man is still hitting .215 with a 605 OPS.

Why not let Chisenhall play third regularly with Hannahan at 1B, and give Lopez some at bats at DH?

Hannahan is a good glove and should be able to do a solid job defensively at the other corner.

Again, we aren’t saying this move would vault the Tribe to the best record in the AL, but shouldn’t the manager be thinking of ways to put the best lineup on the field?

Remember, we had to watch a month of Orlando Cabrera hitting like a pitcher last season, while Cord Phelps couldn’t play more than one day in a row.

It’s alright for a manager to have guys he can turn to when the going gets tough, but stifling the development of young players at the expense of average players isn’t good for the organization.

KM