INDIANS-6/3/02

LATEST TEAM INFO:

The past week the Indians have turned thing around winning their last four, and last eight of ten. All departments of the team have improved immensely. In a three game sweep of the Whit Sox this past weekend the Indians scored a total of twenty-three runs. Not only the hitting but also the pitching has been exceptional, highlighted by Bartolo Colon’s complete game shutout, and Sunday Chuck Finley went seven innings without giving up a run. The only shaky spot was Bob Wickman’s outing yesterday when he gave up two runs in the ninth but still got the save. This past week and a half it has seemed to be a different baseball team then we saw in late April, or early May. Maybe this can be a turning point for the Indians this year and they can squeeze their way into a playoff spot. This is doubtful but hey it ain’t over till it’s over.

Jim Thome has been on fire the last few days. In the last four days he has four homeruns, boosting his total to fifteen on the year. Jimmy has even been hitting the ball the opposite way which is a great sign that he is locked in. If he stays hot the sky is the limit on what he can do.

Another Indian that has been hitting well is recent call-up Chris Magruder. Magruder has impressed all of Cleveland with his hard-nosed play in centerfield, and some recent power hitting two homeruns in the series with the White Sox. One of which ended up being the game winner in Sunday’s game.

Bartolo Colon has been pitching amazing as of late. His last two starts have produced two complete game shutouts. The only thing that worries me about Colon is his recent pitch counts. In his last six starts he has thrown a combined 696 pitches. However, he is one of if not the strongest player in the game today. He can throw a 99 MPN fastball in the ninth inning of a MLB game. The only other people that can say that are Randy Johnson, and maybe Curt Schilling.

LOCAL PROSPECTIVE:

Many fans are demanding changes with the ball club. Changes not only with the manager, but also with the direction of the team. In all reality the Indians should not make the playoffs this year. However with how bad the Central division is the Indians find themselves at 28-28, and only three and a half games back of Division leading Minnesota. Recent demands from owner Larry Dolan have made GM Mark Shapiro cut payroll, and change the team to a slugfest team to a team that relies on pitching to win. Many fans want the Indians to trade away veterans for prospects, and young hitters to try and rebuild the recently demolished, and best farm system in baseball. This is what GM Mark Shapiro has said he would do but so far hasn’t followed through with his promises yet.

Attendance at Jacob’s field has dropped dramatically to about 25,000 per game. For fans that are used to coming to a sellout at the park this seems like nothing, but most teams would love average that many fans per game. At this rater the Indians will draw a little over 2 million for the year. Many teams struggle to draw 1.5 million per year.

RUMOR MILL:

The rumors are still going around Cleveland crazily. The most recent is that of Bartolo Colon going to the Brewers Reds, or Mariners. The most likely of these is probably him going to the Reds. The Reds have what the Tribe is supposedly, and should be looking for in young hitters. The obstacle here is that the Indians want Austin Kearns, and the Reds want to send Encarnacion instead. The two teams have a history of dealing with each other, so maybe something will get done. Another obstacle is that Colon has been pitching extremely well as of late which will either make him an untouchable, or just increase his trade value.

The other two players the Indians seem to be shopping Jim Thome and Chuck Finley have also been playing tremendous as of late. This only helps the Indians if the do trade either of them. The only team I have heard associated with Thome’s name is the Braves. This makes sense, as the Braves need a first baseman. The platoon of Wes Helms and Julio Franco simply isn’t working out for them.

INJURIES:

Milton Bradley-(CF) Status: DL
Milton is on his way back to the club. He should return by the end of the week after recovering from a broken eye socket. His playing time will be a little less then it was before the injury due to the excellent play of fill in Chris Magruder. Milton should still play at least four games a week.

ON THE FARM:

Class AAA Buffalo has lost many of its hitters to the majors, but still has a respectable record of 32-23. 2B-3B-OF Bill Selby (.299-4-17) has joined outfielders Bruce Aven (.276-4-13) and Chris Magruder (.271-3-9) in the group of hitters the Indians have used to try to rejuvenate their struggling offense. Magruder is playing well for the big league club and he could grab some of Milton Bradley’s playing time when he returns from his rehab assignment. The Indians, however, have left some talent untapped in AAA, at least for the moment. Catcher Chris Coste is leading the International League with a .372 BA and is leading the Bisons with 25 RBI’s. 1B Earl Snyder, with the big league club earlier in the year, is hitting .237, with 8 HR’s and 18 RBI’s. Unfortunately, he has struck out 35 times in 118 AB’s. Snyder could probably hit .260-25-90 eventually if given the chance to play every day in the majors. 3B Chris LaRocca is putting up solid stats, hitting .308 with 3 HR’s, 17 RBI’s, and 9 SB’s. Starter Tim Drew threw a 2-hitter last week, bringing down his ERA and WHIP to 3.36 and 1.33, respectively. A more in-depth analysis of Drew can be found in my Indians Minor Leaguers thread in the Indians forum. Starters Jason Phillips and Nerio Rodriguez both have sub-1.00 WHIP’s. Phillips has a 6-2 record and 2.80 ERA, while Rodriguez has a 3-2 record and a 2.00 ERA. Flame-throwing RP Martin Vargas has a 2.19 ERA to go along with his team-leading 8 saves. Vargas could close for in the big leagues sometime down the road, and there is a good possibility he could become the Indians top set-up man in the next couple years. There are not many players left at Buffalo who could be called up and have an immediate impact with the Indians, but if Drew continues his solid pitching, he could allow the Indians to trade SP Bartolo Colon.

Class AA Akron is off to a great start at 36-16. They are led by catcher Victor Martinez (.311-8-32), who is one of the top catchers in the minors and one of the Indians top prospects. Outfielder Nate Grindell is hitting .290-5-25, but he has only 8 walks in 176 at-bats, which is not a good sign for his future. Pitchers are leading the way for the Aeros. RP Jose Colon is 2-1 with a 1.45 ERA and 0 BB’s in 18 IP. RPs Alberto Garza (2-0, 1.37 ERA) and Dan Guillory (3-3, 1.30 ERA) are both striking out more than a batter an inning. RP Dave Elder, acquired from Texas in exchange for John Rocker, is 2-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 31 K’s in 29 IP. Unfortunately, Elder is three years too old to be in AA at twenty-six years of age. RP Carl Sadler is also pitching well. Sadler is 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA. Also leading the Aeros is a trio of solid starters. SP Jason Stanford is 5-3 with a 3.29 ERA, and he has allowed only 2 HRs in 54 IP. SP Brian Tallet is 4-0 with a 2.54 ERA, and SP Billy Traber is 7-2 with a 3.30 ERA. Traber could be called up to take SP Chuck Finley’s spot in the big league rotation should Finley be traded. Other than Traber, there are few candidates to be called up to the big leagues soon, although a few relievers and Tallet could soon be promoted to Buffalo.

Class A Kinston is struggling to get to the .500 mark at 27-28. They are led by prospect OF Ryan Church, who is hitting .333 with 9 HRs, 25 RBIs and 4 SBs. Unfortunately, he has struck out 43 times in 144 at-bats. There is still hope he can lower the K/AB ratio as he has only recently been converted from pitcher to hitter. SS Hector Luna is one of the Indians many shortstop prospects. So far this year, he is hitting .257 with 6 HRs and 25 RBIs. He is only 2-for-8 on steal attempts, however. 2B Maicer Izturis is a converted shortstop, and he is hitting .245 with 19 stolen bases in 25 attempts. One of the Indians top prospects and their top draft pick two years ago, 3B Corey Smith, is also having a good year at Kinston. He is hitting .279 with 5 HRs, 29 RBIs, and is leading the team with 97 total bases. He, too, has a strikeout problem, striking out 58 times in 226 at-bats while drawing only 18 walks. If not corrected, the strikeouts could be a problem in the future. Not too many pitchers are impressive here. SP Fernando Cabrera is only 2-5, but he has a 3.21 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and has 55 K’s in 56 innings. He is one of the Indians lower-level prospects. SP/RP Brandon Matheny has a 3.38 ERA, but his WHIP is approaching the 1.50 mark and he isn’t overpowering hitters. RP Marcos Mendoza is 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA and fellow RP Aquiles Pinales has 3 saves with a 3.28 ERA and 22 Ks in 24 IP. RP Scott Sturkie has dominated opposing batters at Kinston after crushing batters at Columbus before his recent promotion. He has a 1.29 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP after going 3-0 with a 0.99 ERA and 0.75 WHIP at Columbus. He could be this year’s Alex Herrera. RP Jose Vargas has a 1.08 ERA and 19 Ks in 16 IP.

Class A Columbus is led by their young quintet of pitching prospects in their rotation. However, their offense is struggling. 2B/3B Joe Inglett is leading the team with a .304 BA, 5 triples, and 31 RBI. He doesn’t have much power or speed, but he does have good plate discipline, with 21 BBs and 19 Ks in 194 ABs. Outfield prospect Willy Taveras is still failing to raise his BA (.218), but his OBP is .359 and he has a 29:34 BB/K ratio in 179 at-bats, which added onto his 28 steals in 38 attempts makes for his season so far mediocre instead of poor. He’s also scored 39 times, which leads all Columbus players. Shortstop prospect Ivan Ochoa has flashed his lightning-fast speed, stealing 23 times and getting caught only once! Unfortunately, he’s struck out 40 times in 175 at-bats and is hitting only .154. Pitching well out of the bullpen are RPs Oscar Alvarez (2.20 ERA), Chris Cooper (3.82 ERA, 2 saves, 37 K’s in 33 IP), Nathan Fernley (2.70 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 10 K’s in 10 IP), Lee Gronkiewicz (2.86 ERA, 9 saves, 26 K’s in 22 IP), and Doug Lantz (3-0, 2.90 ERA). SP Dan Denham has great stuff, but his stats aren’t showing his potential (3-4, 4.83 ERA). SP Jake Dittler (2-3, 4.76 ERA) has been struggling so far this season. SP Travis Foley (6-2, 2.72 ERA, 62 K’s in 56 IP) is having a great season, although he isn’t one of the Indians best pitching prospects. SP J.D. Martin lit up the minors last year, but he’s not as dominating this year. His ERA is 4.42, but his WHIP is 1.12 and his record is 6-3. He also has a 58:18 K/BB ratio and his 58 K’s have come in only 55 innings of work. His ERA is not an accurate perception of the season Martin is really having and he really is pitching well, although not on the same dominating level he was last year, which would be extremely hard to keep up with. SP Derek Thompson (2.67 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) is having arguably as good of a year as Foley, however I would need to see more of Thompson at the upper levels as it may be difficult for him to succeed as he moves up in the minor leagues.
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QUICK VIEW:

Add:

Omar Vizquel-SS He leads the team in average at .310, and steals with nine. He also has an unexpected but pleasant 6 HR, and 31 RBI.

Danys Baez-SP Baez has been surprisingly the Indians most consistent pitcher all year.

Ryan Drese-SP Drese has been pihign more and more consistent as of late, and has even been striking out lots of batters.

Chuck Finley-SP(new)- I am shocked I am advising you to do this, but Chuck deserves it. He ahs been consistent lately, and his brought his ERA all the way down to 3.99.

Drop:

Ricky Gutierrez-2B No stolen bases at a position you need them, and only nine RBI with a .239 average.

Russell Branyan-OF, 3B (new) The power isn’t worth the .208 average and average of three strikeouts per game. Branyan isn’t even playing every day.

Hold:

Bartolo Colon-SP No explanation needed…I hope?
C.C. Sabathia-SP His last couple starts have been solid. In one he went eight shutout innings, and struck out seven.
Jim Thome-1B Among league leaders in HR, and RBI, and ahs been on fire lately.
Matt Lawton-OF Is on pace to have his best season of his career.
Bob Wickman-RP Solid for 35 saves plus.
Ellis Burks-OF This past week Wllis ahs blasted four homeruns, and continues to be the team’s best hitter with runners in scoring position hitting over .400.