LATEST TEAM INFO:
The Indians have now made three big moves in just under three weeks with the July 11th firing of former Manager Charlie Manual and Friday’s trade of Chuck Finley to the Cardinals. General Manager Mark Shapiro, unwilling to fulfill Manual’s request to remain with the Indians beyond this season, fired Manual in the best interests of both the Indians and the former manager.
His replacement, Interim Manager Joel Skinner, was previously a manager in the Indians minor leagues, and ranked amongst the top managerial prospects in baseball. Skinner served as the third base coach for Cleveland throughout the 2001 and 2002 seasons before his promotion to manager. Shapiro says Skinner will hold the interim tag for the remainder of this season and will be given a chance to produce results for a team riddled with young talent. Skinner is the leading candidate to retain the managerial position past this season, but he will have some competition, namely Terry Francona, Buddy Bell, and Eddie Murray, none of which are particularly appealing to the ears of Indians fans.
Forced to manage young prospects intertwined with a few older veterans, Manual did the best job he could. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t good enough. Manual was highly regarded as one of the best men in baseball, and it was this very trait that led to his firing. Friends with many players, Manual was unable to enforce his role as a man of authority in the Indians’ clubhouse. Players would laugh and joke around with Manual, and treated him as more of a fellow teammate than a manager. Skinner should be more of a figure of authority, and most baseball observers see Skinner as the best man for the Cleveland managerial spot.
Finley was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder/first-baseman Luis Garcia and a player to be named. Garcia, 23, was hitting .266 with 12 home runs at Class AA, but was hitting over .300 with 8 home runs over the last month and a half. Garcia could hit .270-.280 with 30 home runs annually in the majors, and was ranked the top positional prospect in the Cardinals organization. There is a list of four undisclosed players from whom the Indians will select the player to be named.
Finley was rumored to have five potential suitors interested in obtaining his services. Cincinnati, San Francisco, Boston, and St. Louis were four of the teams interested in Finley, and Shapiro did not disclose the fifth team. That number was dwindled down to three teams on Thursday and two teams on Friday, from whom Shapiro selected St. Louis as the best fit.
On a sadder note, Indians assistant trainer Jimmy Warfield passed away late last week. Warfield, who died of a brain hemorrhage, was rushed to the hospital after collapsing in the Indians’ locker room. Highly regarded as one of the best men in baseball, Warfield will be remembered by a patch worn on all Indians uniforms.
LOCAL PERSPECTIVE:
The Colon trade had both attendance and fan morale at it’s lowest point since the mid-nineties, but the Manual firing puts a whole new spin on fan perspective. Fed up with the dismal play of their home team, Indians fans felt it was time for a change. Many fans grew impatient with Manual’s numerous managerial mistakes, and these mistakes took their toll day after day on Tribe fans. Fans rejoiced when they heard Manual had been fired, and most were ecstatic upon news of the naming of Skinner as interim manager.
Perhaps the rejuvenation of fans will provide a new outlook for fans on the rebuilding process. Shapiro is well aware that the next few years will provide a foundation of “core fans”, whom will support the team in both good times and bad. This group of fans has spiked after the firing of Manual, but another blockbuster trade may dwindle that number to an all-time low. Criticism of Shapiro is plentiful, and most is undeserved. Shapiro has not only cut payroll, as ordered by owner Larry Dolan, but he has also provided the core prospects necessary for such a rebuilding process. Many fans, unaware of the potential of such prospects, have fueled heavy criticism of Shapiro. Few Indians fans are optimistic on the outlook of such trades, namely the Alomar and Colon deals, but they may soon grow in number upon the arrival of the highly-regarded prospects acquired in these trades.
RUMOR MILL
Many baseball observers suspected that Jim Thome would be the first veteran to be traded, and the Manual firing fueled such speculation even further. Manual was a second father to Thome, and his firing was more devastating to Thome than any other player in the Indians clubhouse. Boston is unable to supply the Indians with the prospects necessary to acquire Thome, and getting a third team involved in a deal for Thome may be too high of a price to pay. The leading candidate to land Thome is Atlanta, whom could offer a package of highly regarded shortstop prospect Wilson Betemit, along with pitchers Jung Bong and Matt Belisle. Betemit has watched his stock fall with a poor season, Bong has been compared to a young Tom Glavine, and Belisle was one of baseball’s better pitching prospects before missing last season due to injuries. Such a deal would surely benefit the Indians, although the price may be too steep for Atlanta. The latest rumor is that Thome has been asked to waive his no-trade clause, but it is unclear to which team he was asked to waive the clause for.
Omar Vizquel is a candidate to get traded to the Braves, whom could send either Wes Helms or Damian Moss to Cleveland. It’s unlikely Cleveland would accept either player, as both are overrated. Helms is a solid backup who could hit 20 home runs, but nothing more. Moss allows way too many walks and is unlikely to maintain his current level of success. It would take prospects in order for the Indians to give up Vizquel.
Any other player not in the Indians’ plan for 2005 will be marketed to other teams. The most likely candidate to be traded is Thome, although any veteran is at risk for a possible trade. Some names being thrown around as possible trade bait include Paul Shuey, Ricardo Rincon, and Ellis Burks.
ON THE FARM
As last week’s report recognized the prospects who have played well to this point of the season, this week’s report shall recognize those prospects who are underachieving. In cases where no prospects are underachieving, the player who is yielding the least productivity is mentioned.
At Class AAA Buffalo, SS Zach Sorensen has been a disappointment. At one time projected to be the shortstop of the future, Sorensen has failed to develop as the Indians planned. Through 75 games, Sorensen was batting .254 with 5 home runs and 17 RBI. Sorensen is close to losing prospect status altogether.
Roy Smith was once a promising side-armed relief candidate, but has struggled this season. Smith, who is 4-3 with a 4.93 ERA, has been inconsistent and has lost control of his pitches at time. The bright spot to Smith’s season is his 36 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched, which offer a glimpse of hope for the future.
At Class AA Akron, 3B Troy Cameron was once a promising young slugger for the Atlanta Braves. Since being acquired in the John Rocker trade, Cameron has yet to yield results. He is hitting just .221 with 3 home runs and 22 RBI, and has shown horrendous strike-zone judgment. If he doesn’t soon turn things around, Cameron could soon be out of baseball.
Matt White was once a decent candidate to crack the big league club, but has suffered numerous setbacks in his climb to the big leagues. White, who is 4-2 with a 5.02 ERA, has been easy to hit and is unable to take control of opposing batters. White no longer retains prospect status and is not likely to make the big league club.
At Class A Kinston, OF Tyler Minges was once a promising but raw outfield prospect. Now Minges is stuck in Class A and isn’t producing. Minges is hitting .235 with 8 home runs and 32 RBI. He has stolen 4 bases, but has been caught stealing 7 times. It is unlikely that Minges will advance unless he provides increased production, which is possible due to decent plate discipline.
The underachieving pitcher award goes to RP Matt Wade, due to lack of underachieving prospects. Wade, who is 1-0 with an 11.12 ERA, has a 2.30 WHIP and has struggled to maintain control of his pitches. Wade hasn’t pitched much this season, but will need to turn things around in order to remain with Kinston.
At Class A Columbus, SS Ivan Ochoa was a potential replacement for a possible shortstop vacancy in a few years. Ochoa has failed to produce, however, and has fallen behind other shortstop prospects in the organization. He is hitting .185 with 32 stolen bases, but strikes out too much. Ochoa is still young, though, and will still have a chance to turn his talent into production in future seasons.
Jake Dittler is a decent prospect, but the young starter has failed to produce in the first half of the season. He will be given every chance to succeed, although he has fallen behind the other pitching prospects currently at Columbus. Dittler, who is 3-6 with a 5.23 ERA, will need to work on his control in order to succeed in the big leagues, but has the potential to strike out plenty of opposing batters.
INJURIES:
Jim Thome-1B Status: Ailing
Thome has been resting his ailing back, but remains in much pain. He has continued to hit well over the past few weeks, but may soon suffer decreased production due to his injury. He may not be in Cleveland much longer, but his ailing back may hurt his trade value.
Bob Wickman-RP Status: DL
Wickman was placed on the 15-day DL due to soreness in his forearm, which has limited his effectiveness as of late. Expect Paul Shuey to get the majority of the save opportunities in Wickman's absence.
Travis Fryman-3B Status: DL
Fryman was placed on the 15-day DL with inflammation in his right shoulder. He hasn't played well this season, and may retire at the end of this year. Bill Selby and Earl Snyder will get the majority of playing time at third in Fryman's absence.
QUICK VIEW:
ADD:
Ellis Burks-OF: He is hitting .316 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI over the past month. He may be headed to Oakland, where he would play mainly DH.
Ricky Gutierrez-2B: Gutierrez is hitting .368 with 2 home runs and 12 RBI over the past month. Expect a productive second half from Gutierrez, who will be forced to showcase his talent to skeptical Indians fans.
DROP:
Ryan Drese-SP: Drese should be a future regular in the Indians rotation, but the future is not now. He is just 1-3 with an 8.75 ERA in his last 5 starts. The only bright spot are his 20 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.
Einar Diaz-C: Hitting just .186 with 1 RBI over last 20 games. He may lose playing time to Eddie Perez, who is hitting a healthy .375 over the past month.
TRADE:
Omar Vizquel-SS: Vizquel is nursing an injured left shoulder, and his numbers are suffering as a result. Don’t expect Vizquel to duplicate his first-half numbers, as he should produce much like previous seasons for the remainder of this year.
LATEST TEAM INFO:
The Indians have stumbled their way to the All-Star break with a 39-47 record, 9 ½ games out of first place in the Central, and a league worst .238 batting average pretty much summarizes the first half of the year for the Tribe. Before dealing Bartolo Colon the Indians were getting the best pitching they had seen in recent memory day after day from all five starters, only to loose many games when giving up only two or three runs. The bottom line is there simply is not enough hitting talent on this team to win. The Indians are on pace to loose 89 games, which would be their worst season since 1989, when they lost a franchise record 105 games. Back in the mid nintey’s when the Indians had some of the most amazing lineups ever assembled, they anualy had seven hitters batting over .300. This year at the break the team’s leading hitter is Omar Vizquel, who is hitting .285. The bad news is that it won’t get any better for a long time.
The Tribe did end the first half on a positive note taking two out of three from the White Sox. In the last game of the first half the Indians had an eight run inning, sparked by a Milton Bradley Grand-Slam, and a three run homer from Matt Lawton. However, this brings up another problem. As I sat and watched that game in the first inning, the Indians had runners on second and third with one out, and one rune already in, and failed to score again. When things like this happen it is a big bright flashing sign of a bad baseball team. The only way the Indians could score runs in that game was with a homerun. If it were not for the long ball they would have lost 3-2. This team is not going anywhere far anytime soon.
LOCAL PROSPECTIVE:
Although sold attendance marks are still high in Cleveland actual attendance is lacking. Fans seem very impatient in having to wait three years to see another contender in Cleveland, and can you blame them? After nearly a decade of winning baseball in the city, it is a let down to have to take three years off. When a new front office comes in and turns things around, in a direction not intended for the present, but for the future, one and only thing is for certain; the fans will not be happy. Larry Dolan cannot expect to make money when he raises ticket prices this off season, only to produce a loosing baseball team.
As for the media, they have been fairly quite about everything that has happened in Cleveland in the past month. Once more trades start happening, I am sure Mark Shapiro will be judged heavily, depending on the quality of the trades. With already two risky deals under his belt Shapiro ahs put himself on thin ice with the media, and another questionable move could put a large crack in that ice not only with the media but the fans as well.
RUMOR MILL:
According to many people Jim Thome is the next logical veteran to go. The most logical choice of teams for Thome to be deal to would be the Atlanta Braves, or Boston Red Sox. Of course each team has a snag in acquiring Thome. The Braves problem lies within salary issues. They simply do not want to take on Thome’s salary without giving the Indians some salary in return, which would defeat half f the purpose of dealing Thome. However the positive side with Atlanta is that they are rich in prospects, and are willing to deal them, in order to get a First Baseman, which they feel would be the final piece to their World Series puzzle. As for Boston they do not have the prospects to offer, but are Thome’s first choice of teams to go to because of his ties to manager Grady Little, and other former Indians on the team. With the lack of prospects the Sox have the Indians are hesitant in dealing Thome to Boston, where he would fit in perfectly, to fill their glaring hole at first base.
With Raul Mondesi being dealt to the Yankees all rumors of Matt Lawton going anywhere have come to a halt. The Yankees now have no need for a right fielder, and have filled pretty much all holes on their team. However Lawton is still a candidate of being traded to clear salary as he makes over 6 mill a year.
Other veterans the Indians could be shopping would include starter Chuck Finley, set up man Paul Shuey, reliever Ricardo Rincon, shortstop Omar Vizquel, and closer Bob Wickman.
ON THE FARM:
As this is the halfway mark of the season, this report will recognize two players from each minor league affiliate who have both performed well for their teams and are considered prospects. One hitter and one pitcher will be recognized from each of the four full-season Cleveland Indians minor league affiliates.
At Class AAA Buffalo, 3B Earl Snyder has posted solid stats since his demotion from the major leagues earlier this season. He is batting .291 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs in 251 at-bats. His plate discipline is improving, but he still has to cut down on his total strikeouts. His significant power is evident not only in his home runs, but also in his 18 doubles and 1 triple despite losing time due to his stint with the Indians. A former first baseman, Snyder is viewed as a potential third baseman in the big leagues as early as next season. A late-season promotion may be in store for Snyder.
There is a lack of top pitching prospects in the upper levels of the Indians’ farm system, and the only decent prospect who is posting solid stats is left-hander Dave Maurer. Maurer was impressive at Class AA Akron before being promoted early last month to Buffalo. He has a 4-0 record and 3.22 ERA at Buffalo in 44 innings pitched. He has allowed only 35 hits and 17 walks while striking out 58 batters in 22 games, including 3 starts. Maurer could get a promotion later this season, but at this point he is viewed as no greater than a potential swingman.
At Class AA Akron, catcher Victor Martinez has been impressive. He is hitting .332 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs in 283 at-bats. His plate discipline is impressive, and he has walked 32 times while striking out only 38 times. Martinez is slugging .562, due to his 26 doubles and 13 home runs. He is leading the team with 159 total bases and is the Indians catcher of the future. Expect a promotion to Buffalo and possibly to Cleveland later in the season. Martinez should contend for a starting spot as early as next season.
Each of the Indians’ three young lefties is deserving of the Class AA Akron spot for best pitching performance, but Billy Traber gets the edge on Brian Tallet due to better stats and also edges out Cliff Lee due to the fact that Lee was recently acquired. Traber is 13-2 with a 2.76 ERA in 18 games. He has allowed 99 hits and 20 walks while striking out 82 in 107 innings pitched. Viewed as a future number two or three starter in the majors, Traber will be promoted to Buffalo along with Tallet and Lee later this month. The trio could also see action in the majors later this season, but will more than likely be promoted together.
Class A Kinston has very few position prospects, but 1B Eric Crozier gets the call here. He gained prospect status with his impressive performance this year. Crozier has posted numbers of .326-9-55 with 4 steals in 72 games played. He has played three games in the outfield, but plays mostly at first base. His plate discipline has been solid, with 42 walks and 57 strikeouts in 258 at-bats. Crozier could hit 15-20 home runs in the majors, but would more than likely need more than that to be a regular at first base. If a few of his 16 doubles turn into home runs, Crozier would have an outside chance to get regular playing time in the majors.
Right-handed Fernando Cabrera has been most impressive amongst Kinston pitchers. He has a 4-7 record, but his 3.74 ERA is a more accurate portrayal of his success. Cabrera has allowed 72 hits and 36 walks while striking out 88 batters in 91 innings pitched. Cabrera will be moved to the bullpen in the major leagues, but has been a part of the rotation to build up his endurance. He is only 20 years old, so a promotion to Akron is not imminent.
Class A Columbus has only two players who are classified as “prospects”, SS Ivan Ochoa and OF Willy Taveras. Taveras gets the nod as he is outperforming Ochoa by a large margin. He is hitting only .258, but he has 50 stolen bases in 61 attempts. Plate discipline is becoming a strength for Taveras, as his 43 walks boost his OBP to .381. The rather high strikeout rate (63 Ks in 291 at-bats) needs to be worked on, but isn’t terrible. It would be to Taveras’ advantage to bulk up as his 13 doubles, 1 triple, and 4 home runs could be improved upon. Taveras is only 20 years old, and a promotion to Kinston isn’t likely until next season.
The young trio of Travis Foley, Dan Denham, and J.D. Martin has raised eyebrows for their performance thus far this season. Foley is given the edge over Denham and Martin due to his 3.49 ERA, which has led him to an 8-3 record. Foley has allowed 66 hits and 31 walks while striking out 85 batters in 77 innings pitched. He wasn’t viewed as a top prospect by the Indians, but has pushed his way into their top 10 prospects and may soon crack the top 5 with continued success. All this success for the Indians young pitchers has come despite being on a strict pitch count for developmental purposes, and all should continue to succeed at future levels.
INJURIES:
Omar Vizquel-SS Status: Ailing
Omar has been playing with an injured left shoulder for sometime now. He originally injured the shoulder making a diving catch on a ball hit up the middle, and has played through the pain for over a month now. During this time Omar’s average ahs dropped, but his play ahs still been solid. This isn’t a lot to worry about for fantasy owner’s, but keep an eye on him.
Jim Thome-1B Status Resting
Jimmy took the series off against the White Sox last week, because of a sore lower back supposedly, but he just needed some rest, as he hadn’t missed a game all year. He is getting time to rest during the All-Star break only because he was snubbed, and with nearly a week off altogether Thome should be more then ready to get back in the lineup Thursday against the Yankees.
QUICK VIEW:
Add:
Omar Vizquel-SS He leads the team in average at .285, and steals with twelve. Omar has also shown power this year with his 10 HR and 47 RBI.
Danys Baez-SP Baez has been tremendous in his first year as a starter, going 7-6, with some tuff luck, and should step up witht eh loss of Bartolo Colon.
Drop:
Ricky Gutierrez-2B He shouldn’t have been on your team in the first place.
Hold:
C.C. Sabathia-SP He is now the young ace of the Indians staff, and should pitch accordingly, and show just what he is made of.
Jim Thome-1B Among league leaders in HR, and RBI, and should finish with 50 plus HR, and 100 plus RBI.
Matt Lawton-OF Je is an all around player, and can help your team tremendously when hot.
Bob Wickman-RP Solid for 35 saves plus.
