AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, I am still in the trial mode of this blog, so this is a post that I am writing as my emotions are ongoing since this deal just happened. Prince Fielder is now a Detroit Tiger for 9 years and $214million. Never has an ACL tear to a clean-up hitter (Victor Martinez) benefited a teams future so much. That injury encouraged the Tigers to magically find $214million and extend their window to win championships at least 5 more years. Un-freaking-believable.
I am not ever going to give up on the Indians! However, this greatly hinders our chances of winning the AL Central, and so does it hurt all other teams in the AL Central. Miguel Cabrera is one of the best hitters in baseball, and Prince Fielder will be hitting behind him, to go along with Justin Verlander coming on the mound every 5th day. The Indians lineup is still good enough to beat the Tigers, if we can figure out Doug Fister. I will conceed every game that Verlander starts against us. What makes this the most aggravating, is that if the Indians can somehow make it to the playoffs, do we have the starting pitching to shut down two of the games best hitters? I simply do not know. Miguel Cabrera has torched us every year, and the only thing that makes this bearable is that the Tigers lost Wilson Betemit who hit .400+ against us, so Prince can do that and still we will be where we were last season.
In a quick synopsis, Prince Fielder isn't just an old school legit power hitter, but he hits for a decent average and is durable. DURABLE! That's the key, and that is the upgrade he provides over Victor Martinez. This is a crushing blow to the improvement plans done by the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians over the off-season. Those are the two teams that I think are most poised to take a jump in the division to become the next set of contenders over the next 5 years. Now? I think the Tigers just made a statement that the Royals and Indians are going to have to do something out of the ordinary to compete with them. They will do whatever it takes to get in the playoffs. The Tigers just said "Check" to the rest of the AL Central.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Carmona...I mean Heredia Fallout
Sorry it took me a while to post my thoughts on this, but I wanted to find out some more information before I made any comments. For those of you who have followed the Indians for the last several years, I think it's safe to say that we have all been rooting for the man formerly known as Fausto Carmona to succeed and be our ace. Over the years he has shown flashes of the Cy Young contender that he was early in his career, and at other times he would be rocked worse Wild Thing's 'Eliminator' pitch. However this situation comes at a time where the Indians need Carmona to be at his best. A good Carmona would almost certainly mean the Tribe would be contenders in the AL Central, and potentially a dangerous team in the playoffs with a rotation of Jimenez, Masterson, and Carmona, all of whom has Cy Young caliber stuff when they are on.
However, Fausto was caught in the Domincan Republic and arrested for attempting to file false information to obtain a work visa for the United States. Apparently he had been paying a family for the fake credentials, and they recently asked for more money from him, to which he declined. The other large factor, beyond just his name being falsified (and many people who wear Carmona jersey's will need to get Heredia printed on them instead), is that he also lies about his age, rather than being 28 he is actually 31. Now for purposes of this season, that wouldn't mean much. However it's a huge issue when you factor in that this a guy that could have signed a long-term extension if he pitched solid for a full season. Teams normally don't like to offer long contracts to up-and-down pitchers who are over 30 years old. If he was 28, then that's a different story. The Indians do hold club options on him for the next two seasons, but that of course is up in the air now too. Will the Indians void his current contract and $7million salary? Will Carmona even be able to make it back into the United States to be a factor this season?
Carmona has already been released on bail in the Dominican Republic and has expressed regret and asked for forgiveness from his family, friends, fans, and the Cleveland Indians organization. I agree with Stephanie Liscio's point on the ESPN blog in her article "Now that the Shock has worn off..." (http://itspronouncedlajaway.com/?p=1544) when she described the poverty that these Dominican Republic athletes come from and have to persevere through to provide a solid home for their family. Bottom line, Carmona has major league talent, he has major league heart, he doesn't get in off the field trouble(other than this incident), and he is a homegrown Cleveland Indian so I am incredibly bias as I continue to want to see him succeed. The only thing that troubles me is the false age issue. Carmona could have caused some unintentional team mismanagement had he signed a long-term deal with either the Tribe or somebody else at this point in his career when rather than pitching in his prime, he is beginning the downslide of his abilities.
The Tribe have taken some preliminary actions by trading a young bullpen arm Zach Putnam to the Rockies for Kevin Slowey yesterday. Slowey provides some depth to the MLB rotation, and should be able to fill in for Carmona if he can beat out David Huff and Jeanmar Gomez for the 5th spot in spring training. More on this trade in a future post about off-season moves.
In closing, there are still many questions to be answered. The organization seems equally as stunned as the fans do about this news. My overall thoughts is that I don't know when or if we will see a Heredia Cleveland Indians uniform on the mound next, but like his up and down results from start to start, I am rooting for him, and hoping that he turns this incident into a positive story when all is said and done.
- Daniel Hahn
However, Fausto was caught in the Domincan Republic and arrested for attempting to file false information to obtain a work visa for the United States. Apparently he had been paying a family for the fake credentials, and they recently asked for more money from him, to which he declined. The other large factor, beyond just his name being falsified (and many people who wear Carmona jersey's will need to get Heredia printed on them instead), is that he also lies about his age, rather than being 28 he is actually 31. Now for purposes of this season, that wouldn't mean much. However it's a huge issue when you factor in that this a guy that could have signed a long-term extension if he pitched solid for a full season. Teams normally don't like to offer long contracts to up-and-down pitchers who are over 30 years old. If he was 28, then that's a different story. The Indians do hold club options on him for the next two seasons, but that of course is up in the air now too. Will the Indians void his current contract and $7million salary? Will Carmona even be able to make it back into the United States to be a factor this season?
Carmona has already been released on bail in the Dominican Republic and has expressed regret and asked for forgiveness from his family, friends, fans, and the Cleveland Indians organization. I agree with Stephanie Liscio's point on the ESPN blog in her article "Now that the Shock has worn off..." (http://itspronouncedlajaway.com/?p=1544) when she described the poverty that these Dominican Republic athletes come from and have to persevere through to provide a solid home for their family. Bottom line, Carmona has major league talent, he has major league heart, he doesn't get in off the field trouble(other than this incident), and he is a homegrown Cleveland Indian so I am incredibly bias as I continue to want to see him succeed. The only thing that troubles me is the false age issue. Carmona could have caused some unintentional team mismanagement had he signed a long-term deal with either the Tribe or somebody else at this point in his career when rather than pitching in his prime, he is beginning the downslide of his abilities.
The Tribe have taken some preliminary actions by trading a young bullpen arm Zach Putnam to the Rockies for Kevin Slowey yesterday. Slowey provides some depth to the MLB rotation, and should be able to fill in for Carmona if he can beat out David Huff and Jeanmar Gomez for the 5th spot in spring training. More on this trade in a future post about off-season moves.
In closing, there are still many questions to be answered. The organization seems equally as stunned as the fans do about this news. My overall thoughts is that I don't know when or if we will see a Heredia Cleveland Indians uniform on the mound next, but like his up and down results from start to start, I am rooting for him, and hoping that he turns this incident into a positive story when all is said and done.
- Daniel Hahn
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
V-Mart Out for the Year
Tough news for one of our old core players Victor Martinez with the news coming out today that he has torn his ACL and will most likely miss the entire season. Victor plays for the dreaded Detroit Tigers, and while this helps the Tribe's chances, nobody wants to win by injury if at all cost. More importantly, seeing a quality individual and player of Victor Martinez miss a whole season will be a big loss for baseball this season in general.
For the post glory years of the late 90's, and for the majority of the Shapiro re-build in Cleveland, Victor Martinez was our catcher and centerpiece. A player who much like Shin-Soo Choo didn't get the attention he properly deserved while just going about his business the right way in Cleveland. Victor has been said to be one of Carlos Santana's favorite players, and when you see Santana play, scouts always project him as the next Victor Martinez.
I wish Victor Martinez all the luck in the world in a healthy recovery and a return to baseball sooner than later.
For the post glory years of the late 90's, and for the majority of the Shapiro re-build in Cleveland, Victor Martinez was our catcher and centerpiece. A player who much like Shin-Soo Choo didn't get the attention he properly deserved while just going about his business the right way in Cleveland. Victor has been said to be one of Carlos Santana's favorite players, and when you see Santana play, scouts always project him as the next Victor Martinez.
I wish Victor Martinez all the luck in the world in a healthy recovery and a return to baseball sooner than later.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
The Core of the Team
Going into the off-season there was obviously a lot of improvement the Tribe could make to it's roster, but the questions weren't if they could improve, it was where to improve the team without sacrificing the core of the roster? Well first thing you have to figure out who you think represents this team's core for building them into a perennial contender. For me there core is Asdrubal Cabrera(SS), Carlos Santana(C), Jason Kipnis(2B) and Shin-Soo Choo(RF) for the positional players, and for pitchers, Chris Perez(CP), Vinnie Pestano(Setup), Justin Masterson(SP), and Ubaldo Jimenez(SP).
I know that list may upset some or cause some questions, feel free to post who I should have left off or who you would add. My theory is this, the core is the guys who are virtually untradeable to make a title run, and are young enough that if this team will make a run at any championship, we need these guys to stay healthy and play to their abilities. They are all also young enough, that who ever you add around them will be the pieces to get them over the top.
First let's take a look at the fielders, I gave you A-Cab, Santana, Kipnis, and Choo as the core. In the past the core players were the young up-and-comers like Sizemore, Peralta, and Hafner. Unfortunately their time as the core of this team is over. For me it's a disappointment, because the talent remains there for those guys, but the injury problems persist too much that you can pay big money on them to be the core of any contender. I am ecstatic we got Sizemore to comeback, but with his injury history, he is now trade-able and not worth a high % of our payroll like he used to be. A-Cab, Santana, Kipnis, and Choo are trade-able assets, but unless we are out of contention, and we get a king's ransom, I can't see the Tribe pulling the trigger on any of these guys. You trade them, you are signaling a rebuild of the team if you ask me. Everybody else on the roster you could trade to upgrade the same position or a different one. Two guys should be on the list, but I just can't add right now, and those guys are Lonnie Chisenhall and Michael Brantley. I am a huge Brantley fan, especially when he is our lead-off hitter. However if Sizemore can stay healthy, he is a very trade-able player since he is young, left-handed, good at drawing up pitchcounts, and the outfield is a place that is ripe to add that right-handed power bat that the team is actively looking for. If the the Tribe are contenders in July again, depending on which teams aren't, I could see Brantley being shopped with another prospect to get us a big-time LF. Chisenhall is young, and has a huge upside also, but I can't see him as the core until he officially supplants Jack Hannahan for good. Going into spring training he has to compete for the starting job. If he doesn't get it, I can see him going to Triple-A to start the season for more seasoning.
I listed a few pitchers as the core of the rotation and bullpen. Obviously the bullpen is the back-end where you need a great setup guy and a great closer. We got both in Pestano and Perez. The only reason I left Joe Smith off, is because I think that Pestano is even more valuable to the team, as you could see him as a closer in the future. Masterson is some run support away from being a legit Cy Young candidate, and Ubaldo Jimenez has Cy Young stuff, and cost us our top two pitching prospects. Fausto Carmona remains in the rotation, but since he has had a tough time with consistency, I think the team has moved on from building the staff around him. He still has Cy Young stuff, and I want to see him dominate this season, but he is hot and cold and may be too erratic to rely on as a #1 starter anymore.
Overall these are my picks, and I can elaborate more if you disagree or have questions. However the point is that these are the guys who will be in a Tribe uniform as long as we are close to the playoff race. If you want to see the Tribe go far this season, these are the guys who have to step up. Most importantly, we need them and their supporting cast to avoid the massive injury bug this year. Nothing hurts a team more than bad clubhouse personalities and injuries. We are fortunate to have quality personalities all over our clubhouse, now we just got to avoid the injuries.
Next Post: What Causes Injuries? Answer...running the bases.
I know that list may upset some or cause some questions, feel free to post who I should have left off or who you would add. My theory is this, the core is the guys who are virtually untradeable to make a title run, and are young enough that if this team will make a run at any championship, we need these guys to stay healthy and play to their abilities. They are all also young enough, that who ever you add around them will be the pieces to get them over the top.
First let's take a look at the fielders, I gave you A-Cab, Santana, Kipnis, and Choo as the core. In the past the core players were the young up-and-comers like Sizemore, Peralta, and Hafner. Unfortunately their time as the core of this team is over. For me it's a disappointment, because the talent remains there for those guys, but the injury problems persist too much that you can pay big money on them to be the core of any contender. I am ecstatic we got Sizemore to comeback, but with his injury history, he is now trade-able and not worth a high % of our payroll like he used to be. A-Cab, Santana, Kipnis, and Choo are trade-able assets, but unless we are out of contention, and we get a king's ransom, I can't see the Tribe pulling the trigger on any of these guys. You trade them, you are signaling a rebuild of the team if you ask me. Everybody else on the roster you could trade to upgrade the same position or a different one. Two guys should be on the list, but I just can't add right now, and those guys are Lonnie Chisenhall and Michael Brantley. I am a huge Brantley fan, especially when he is our lead-off hitter. However if Sizemore can stay healthy, he is a very trade-able player since he is young, left-handed, good at drawing up pitchcounts, and the outfield is a place that is ripe to add that right-handed power bat that the team is actively looking for. If the the Tribe are contenders in July again, depending on which teams aren't, I could see Brantley being shopped with another prospect to get us a big-time LF. Chisenhall is young, and has a huge upside also, but I can't see him as the core until he officially supplants Jack Hannahan for good. Going into spring training he has to compete for the starting job. If he doesn't get it, I can see him going to Triple-A to start the season for more seasoning.
I listed a few pitchers as the core of the rotation and bullpen. Obviously the bullpen is the back-end where you need a great setup guy and a great closer. We got both in Pestano and Perez. The only reason I left Joe Smith off, is because I think that Pestano is even more valuable to the team, as you could see him as a closer in the future. Masterson is some run support away from being a legit Cy Young candidate, and Ubaldo Jimenez has Cy Young stuff, and cost us our top two pitching prospects. Fausto Carmona remains in the rotation, but since he has had a tough time with consistency, I think the team has moved on from building the staff around him. He still has Cy Young stuff, and I want to see him dominate this season, but he is hot and cold and may be too erratic to rely on as a #1 starter anymore.
Overall these are my picks, and I can elaborate more if you disagree or have questions. However the point is that these are the guys who will be in a Tribe uniform as long as we are close to the playoff race. If you want to see the Tribe go far this season, these are the guys who have to step up. Most importantly, we need them and their supporting cast to avoid the massive injury bug this year. Nothing hurts a team more than bad clubhouse personalities and injuries. We are fortunate to have quality personalities all over our clubhouse, now we just got to avoid the injuries.
Next Post: What Causes Injuries? Answer...running the bases.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Grey Beard Sports Blog Introduction
Howdy everybody, this is just my introduction/test post on this blog site. This blog has been something I have been thinking about for awhile, and will probably move over to a website when the time to work on it increases for me. Also, we will be adding some co-bloggers as time rolls on too so that they can post articles on specific teams that they follow, since I am out of market for most of them.
My focus will be on the first sports team I fell in love with growing up. That team is the Cleveland Indians! Yes, I know the Indians are one of the more doomed teams in major league baseball, but having been born in Copley, Ohio I got thrust into Tribe Fever at an early age and been doomed to cheer for them ever since. One of my best friends who is also a Tribe fan has told me that he may try to make sure his children never grow up cheering for the same sports teams he does since the heartbreak of defeat is just too unbearable at times. I can't say I blame him, but I know one day our Tribe will pull thru and win the big one! I plan to post my thoughts on each game as I see them, and hopefully get some feedback from all of you in the process so I can make sure I am watching what you want me to watch most.
More posts to follow soon.
My focus will be on the first sports team I fell in love with growing up. That team is the Cleveland Indians! Yes, I know the Indians are one of the more doomed teams in major league baseball, but having been born in Copley, Ohio I got thrust into Tribe Fever at an early age and been doomed to cheer for them ever since. One of my best friends who is also a Tribe fan has told me that he may try to make sure his children never grow up cheering for the same sports teams he does since the heartbreak of defeat is just too unbearable at times. I can't say I blame him, but I know one day our Tribe will pull thru and win the big one! I plan to post my thoughts on each game as I see them, and hopefully get some feedback from all of you in the process so I can make sure I am watching what you want me to watch most.
More posts to follow soon.
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