Next Year Might Not Be So Bad For Tribe

[sjeppe]

Leading off is all about getting one of your best player at bats. If you move sizemore down, im guessing you all want Brantley leading off. Do we honestly right now want him getting more atbats then Sizemore and Choo, bc that would push them both down in the order. Now there are advantages to him batting down in the order, like driving in more runs. However, im not sure i want an unproven hitter ,in Brantley, getting more at bats until we know for sure he is worthy of them.

 

[-Akronite-]

Leading off is all about getting one of your best player at bats. If you move sizemore down, im guessing you all want Brantley leading off. Do we honestly right now want him getting more atbats then Sizemore and Choo, bc that would push them both down in the order. Now there are advantages to him batting down in the order, like driving in more runs. However, im not sure i want an unproven hitter ,in Brantley, getting more at bats until we know for sure he is worthy of them.

Leading off is about being able to start up the offense. Sizemore is far too often an all or nothing batter. Sure he can swing but he strikes out way too often to be a leadoff man.

 

[PIP]

I too would like to move Grady down... He just feels like an underachiever when it comes to being a leadoff hitter...

A contact guy at that spot with less of an uppercut swing.. More of a .300 hitter with less pop..

 

[elcheato]

Leading off is all about getting one of your best player at bats. If you move sizemore down, im guessing you all want Brantley leading off. Do we honestly right now want him getting more atbats then Sizemore and Choo, bc that would push them both down in the order. Now there are advantages to him batting down in the order, like driving in more runs. However, im not sure i want an unproven hitter ,in Brantley, getting more at bats until we know for sure he is worthy of them.

Eric Wedge, is that you?

You want your best power hitter or hitter in general, hitting 3rd or 4th where he gets more opportunities to drive people in, simple as that.

 

[AZ_]

Leading off is about being able to start up the offense. Sizemore is far too often an all or nothing batter. Sure he can swing but he strikes out way too often to be a leadoff man.

Not really when you compare him to other leadoff men around the league.

 

[Chris]

Not really when you compare him to other leadoff men around the league.

Yes he does. Well, comparing him to some of the best prototypical lead off hitters, he does. Since managers change lineups and guys get injured (like Grady this year) it's hard to do the comparisons.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

Eric Wedge, is that you?

You want your best power hitter or hitter in general, hitting 3rd or 4th where he gets more opportunities to drive people in, simple as that.

After the first inning, the line matters very little. However, the top three hitters is to give your best hitters chances to score. I think Sizemore would be a much better benefit of hitting 3rd with protection than continue hitting 1st with no one on base. However, after that, who cares where people are hitting as long as they can get on base.

 

[justeman]

Next year won't be so good,but i think it would be interesting.

We can keep eyes on our rookies including LaPorta,LV,Brantley,and

i like the way Huff pitched,hope he can improve his number next season.

Maybe we can add Ben sheets into our rotation,if he is healthy,he could be our Ace.

At last.....When can I see Adam Miller debut......

 

[ice cream man]

Worst pitching in baseball...

 

[macbdog]

Worst pitching in baseball...

Statistically, they were the 2nd-worst in baseball, yes- but talentwise, they are certainly not the bottom of the barrel. There are some quality arms in the rotation and bulllpen and some good arms on the cusp in down on the farm- Jeanmar Gomez, Hector Rondon, Zach Putnam, Ryan Wagner, Frank Hermann, Yohan Pino, Steven Wright, etc. What matters most is a pitching coach who can guide them into a cohesive unit, like Carl Willis did about 4 years ago when the Sabathia, Lee, Westbrook trio was getting into gear. Will probably also require a veteran starter to help ease pressure on the staff; like a Kevin Millwood type.

I think next year will be a roller coaster. I see the lineup being the most consistent part of the team, but even they will be up and down as guys are broken in like Santana and Brantley. I give up trying to predict the bullpen; again, there is talent there and I kind of like the backend of Wood, Perez, Sipp, and Smith. The rotation needs a veteran badly, and depending who steps up and who sinks will determine the prospects of the team. I also wouldn't be surprised if we see a trade or two this offseason regarding the rotation; the club has seen just about everything they can from Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey. I wouldn't be shocked if one or both are sent packing.

 

[DougHeil]

Yes; I can see a trade coming involving one or two of the many lefties we have in the system. Most teams don't have enough, but the Indians have too damn many of them. We should be able to grab a nice vet for any two LH pitchers.. pick two. I'd want to keep Huff and maybe Laffey.

I believe the Indians will be much improved. I also believe a new manager is going to make a difference. I think Brantley is the real deal and he WILL lead off. Sizemore will flourish batting 3rd or even 5th. He's a power hitter who can drive in runs. Brantley is a lead off hitter as he can spray the ball around and get on base with the bat or with his speed. He can steal bases. That's what a lead off hitter should do.

I'm looking forward to the manager pick at the end of the month, then onto spring training.

 

[Wes]

Why doesn't anybody ever mention Cabrera as a possible leadoff hitter? He seemed to be the most consistent hitter last year, although I would personally like to see him take a few more walks.

As far as Brantley in the leadoff spot, I too would like to see him lower in the order to start the year, so that he is not overwhelmed. But the Rockies brought up Dexter Fowler this year, and tossed him straight into the leadoff spot, and he did a pretty decent job for them. So it's not totally unconventional to have a rookie or young player bat leadoff.

 

[DougHeil]

Why doesn't anybody ever mention Cabrera as a possible leadoff hitter? He seemed to be the most consistent hitter last year, although I would personally like to see him take a few more walks.

As far as Brantley in the leadoff spot, I too would like to see him lower in the order to start the year, so that he is not overwhelmed. But the Rockies brought up Dexter Fowler this year, and tossed him straight into the leadoff spot, and he did a pretty decent job for them. So it's not totally unconventional to have a rookie or young player bat leadoff.

Nope. I'd prefer Cabrera batting second or even third. Second is best for him. I'm not sure why people are hesitating about Brantley. What did he need to do the last 5 weeks of the season? He only batted .310 or something like that. I guess .350 would have been better?

 

[CavsFinals2016]

I think if we get one or two solid pitcher in free agency, we could manage a slightly over .500 winning percentage. Here is a list, that may or may not be correct, but I'm going to bold the plausible ones that I think we'd go after.

Starting pitchers
Brandon Backe (32)
Miguel Batista (39)
Erik Bedard (31)
Kris Benson (34)
Daniel Cabrera (29)
Chris Capuano (31)
Aroldis Chapman (22)
Bartolo Colon (37)
Jose Contreras (38)
Doug Davis (34)
Justin Duchscherer (32)
Adam Eaton (32)
Shawn Estes (37)
Josh Fogg (33)
Jon Garland (30) - $10MM mutual option with $2.5MM or $1MM buyout
Tom Glavine (44)
Mike Hampton (37)
Rich Harden (28)
Mark Hendrickson (36)
Livan Hernandez (35)
Tim Hudson (34) - $12MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout
Jason Jennings (31)
Jason Johnson (36)
Randy Johnson (46)
John Lackey (31)
Cliff Lee (31) - $8MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Braden Looper (35) - $6.5MM mutual option with possible buyout
Rodrigo Lopez (34)
Jason Marquis (31)
Brett Myers (29)
Vicente Padilla (32)
Chan Ho Park (37)
John Parrish (32)
Carl Pavano (34)
Brad Penny (32)
Odalis Perez (33)
Andy Pettitte (38)
Joel Pineiro (31)
Sidney Ponson (33)
Mark Prior (28)
Horacio Ramirez (30)
Jason Schmidt (37)
Ben Sheets (31)
John Smoltz (43)
Brett Tomko (37)
Tim Wakefield (43) - perpetual $4MM club option
Jarrod Washburn (35)
Brandon Webb (31) - $8.5MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Todd Wellemeyer (31)
Kip Wells (33)
Randy Wolf (33)

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

I bet the Indians go after Randy Wolf. He seems like a pretty good fit for what we need, IMO.