Terry's Talking . . . About the Tribe

[Gunther]

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2009/09/terry_plutos_talkin_about_the_5.html

Terry Pluto's Talkin' ... about the Browns' challenges, Indians with potential and Cavs' camp
By Terry Pluto
September 26, 2009, 11:51PM

About the Indians ...

1. It looks like Michael Brantley should be the favorite to open in left field for the Indians. He takes over the leadoff spot, allowing Grady Sizemore to bat in the middle of the order. He also can play center when Sizemore needs a rest. He should give the Indians one of the best defensive outfields in the league. Shin-Soo Choo, Sizemore and Brantley all can run, although Choo is the only one with a good arm.

2. Brantley was 5-of-15 in this week's series against Detroit, a significant accomplishment because the Tigers are battling Minnesota for a playoff berth. The lefty hitter entered the weekend batting .337 with a .385 on-base percentage. The remarkable stat is that he's hitting .550 (11-of-20) vs. left-handers. He is.275 vs. righties.

3. When the Indians benched Andy Marte for much of September, it was not only to move Matt LaPorta to first base -- but also to give Trevor Crowe time in left field. Crowe can do everything Brantley can do, only not as well. Crowe is athletic and has a better arm than Brantley, but has little power. He entered the weekend batting .232 with one homer and 15 RBI. He is at .279 (24-of-86) since the All-Star break. The Indians consider Crowe a backup, but valuable.

4. Choo is finishing off a superb season, hitting .304 with 17 homers and 81 RBI entering the weekend. In the American League, Choo ranks eighth with a .397 on-base percentage, 13th with 37 doubles, 16th with an .882 OPS. He is batting .317 vs. righties, .272 vs. lefties and .292 with runners in scoring position. Only his 143 strikeouts (eighth) are a negative to what is otherwise an excellent all-around game, especially when you add 19-of-21 on stolen bases.

5. Despite starting only five of the Tribe's last 15 games entering the weekend, Marte (along with Crowe) seems to have secured a spot on the bench for 2010 -- at least written in pencil. The Indians see Marte as a backup at third and at first base.

6. But it's still annoying to see Marte playing so little. He received the two starts this week only because LaPorta hurt his hip. To Marte's credit, he went 4-for-6 vs. Detroit. Entering the weekend, Marte had five homers in 128 at-bats, good for 19 RBI. He was batting .243 vs. righties, 4-of-17 (.235) vs. lefties and .286 with runners in scoring position. Why not leave the guy in the lineup for the rest of the season to see what he can do?

7. The Indians consider Marte a solid third baseman, yet he has not played an inning there since being recalled from Class AAA Columbus. Jhonny Peralta (.183 in September) has played third nearly every day. When he did rest, manager Eric Wedge used Jamey Carroll at third. That made little sense.

8. Peralta is ending a discouraging season. His .262 batting average ranks 59th of 75 American League players considered "regulars" by ESPN. His .710 OPS is 69th of 75. His 126 strikeouts are 11th in the league. That's why it's strange that he has started all but two games in September.

 

[DougHeil]

hm. This tells me that we will be going with 12 pitchers. If we are sure that Marte makes the 25 man roster, and so does Crowe, a backup catcher (probably Toregas), that only leaves ONE more roster spot open if we have 12 pitchers.

Another reason to keep Marte; #8 is very disturbing.

 

[The Oi]

That Wedge hasn't been playing Marte is definitely a concern. The one year Marte starts to show some promise, he can't buy himself any playing time.

Wedge has absolutely GOT TO be fired. He's just a terrible manager.

 

[DougHeil]

It's interesting the contrast between Pluto and Hoynes. It's obvious over a full season that Pluto is not on the Indians payroll and Hoynes seems to be. Hoynes is very wrong on many of his opinions. Sizemore leading off? He must be on drugs. That's the worse thing to do since we all know Sizemore has never been a leadoff hitter... not ever. He only was stuck there because of an injury years ago. If you start him there yet again, you go through the entire year with it as Sizemore would not take anything less. A new manager would know this, and would also know Brantley is a true leadoff hitter. Hoynes is wrong on other things as well. For another thing, he's always an apologist for Wedge.

Pluto tells it like it is. He's the same with the Browns, the Indians, and the Cavs.


http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2009/09/cleveland_indians_shouldnt_hes.html

Cleveland Indians shouldn't hesitate in their off-season of change: MLB Insider
By Paul Hoynes
September 26, 2009, 7:18PM

The first decision for Mark Shapiro and the Dolans' leadership team is obvious -- make a call on the status of manager Eric Wedge.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Here are seven things that the Indians have to do to put the ruins of this season behind them and prepare for 2010.

Make a managerial decision quickly: Whether Eric Wedge stays or goes, Larry and Paul Dolan and GM Mark Shapiro should make their decision known as soon as possible following the end of the season. They've held several meetings over the last two or three weeks so they should be ready to act.

Wedge and his coaching staff have done a good job dealing with the situation, but a resolution is needed.

Make the right pick: The Indians appear to be headed for a top-five pick in next year's June draft. They need to draft the right player and sign, seal and deliver him to the big leagues as soon as he's ready.

In the meantime, you can bet that Wedge and his coaching staff aren't the only ones being dissected by the team's decision makers. The scouting, drafting and player development procedures are probably getting a close look as well.

Define the rotation: Starting pitching sunk this year's team and it could easily do it again in 2010. Jake Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, David Huff, Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, Carlos Carrasco, Justin Masterson and Hector Rondon are among the candidates next year. Anthony Reyes and Scott Lewis would be as well, if not for injuries. Reyes is recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and Lewis had left elbow problems all this year.

The problem is there isn't a No.1 starter among them.

If Westbrook is healthy, he has enough experience to handle the job. He's made five big-league starts in the last two years because of Tommy John surgery, so that's not encouraging.

Pick a catcher: Victor Martinez has left a big void. Is there an answer among Kelly Shoppach, Lou Marson, Wyatt Toregas or Chris Gimenez? The Indians don't want to open next season with Carlos Santana. They prefer that he get some time at Class AAA Columbus.

Shoppach, the only veteran, is finishing a bad season in which he was exposed with increased playing time. He's eligible for arbitration and might not be back next year.

Marson, Toregas and Gimenez are unproven rookies. The Indians will probably need to sign a veteran free agent to help develop their young pitching staff, while Santana develops in Columbus.

Some possibilities include: Henry Blanco, Ramon Castro, Jason LaRue, Jose Molina, Mike Redmond and Ivan Rodriguez.

Make a decision on Kerry Wood: A $10.5 million closer doesn't fit on a rebuilding team. If the Indians trade Wood this winter, they'd probably have to pay a big part of his salary. Teams might also be hesitant because if Wood finishes 55 games next year, he vests an $11 million option for 2011.

Yet, if Tony Sipp and Chris Perez keep improving, it would be nice having a closer who hits 96 mph to 97 mph like he's rolling out of bed. A bounce-back year from Rafael Perez and good health for Joe Smith would help as well.

Don't mess with Grady Sizemore: The Indians shouldn't be in a rush to move Sizemore out of the leadoff/center field spot no matter how well Michael Brantley has played in September.

Brantley has done a nice job in the leadoff spot, but Sizemore is the better center fielder. Letting Sizemore open the 2010 season batting leadoff and playing center would probably ease the pressure on Brantley. Eventually he may move into that spot, while Sizemore moves to the middle of the lineup, but there's no need to rush.

The starting outfield next year could be Brantley in left, Sizemore in center and Shin-Soo Choo in right. In spite of being all left-handed hitters, that's a good place to start.

Figure out the infield: If they're not convinced Luis Valbuena and Jason Donald are the answer at second base, they may want to keep free agent Jamey Carroll. The same goes for Andy Marte after a hot-and-cold year at third by Jhonny Peralta.

They should give the first base job to Matt LaPorta and end his yo-yo act between the outfield and infield.

 

[Gunther]

It's interesting the contrast between Pluto and Hoynes. It's obvious over a full season that Pluto is not on the Indians payroll and Hoynes seems to be. Hoynes is very wrong on many of his opinions. Sizemore leading off? He must be on drugs. That's the worse thing to do since we all know Sizemore has never been a leadoff hitter... not ever. He only was stuck there because of an injury years ago. If you start him there yet again, you go through the entire year with it as Sizemore would not take anything less. A new manager would know this, and would also know Brantley is a true leadoff hitter. Hoynes is wrong on other things as well. For another thing, he's always an apologist for Wedge.

Pluto tells it like it is. He's the same with the Browns, the Indians, and the Cavs.


http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2009/09/cleveland_indians_shouldnt_hes.html

Yeah, I noticed that as well. I've got to say that I have lost a great deal of respect for Hoynes this season. He really tells it like it ain't. Why in the world would you leave Grady in the leadoff spot with young stud Brantley in waiting? Makes no sense at all.

 

[DougHeil]

Yeah, I noticed that as well. I've got to say that I have lost a great deal of respect for Hoynes this season. He really tells it like it ain't. Why in the world would you leave Grady in the leadoff spot with young stud Brantley in waiting? Makes no sense at all.

Yep. Not to mention the fact that Sizemore would be a much bigger help in the middle of the lineup where he can drive in more runs. Hoynes couldn't be more wrong having the idea that it would be better to have Grady leading off. That's nutso stuff... and I'm being kind.

 

[macbdog]

1. Folks worry way to much about the lineup order. What matters is that your best hitters are at the top so they get the most ABs, and that you stagger the lineup from left to right to avoid matchup problems. You can make an argument that the first two hitters in the lineup should also be good at working the count so the rest of the club can see what the starting pitcher is throwing that day. Apart from that, once the first inning is over, who was 1st and who is 9th becomes negligible. It doesn't matter if your top power hitter is 4th, what matters is that he has guys in front of him in the lineup who get on base.

2. If there is any requirement to being a quality leadoff hitter, it isn't necessarily speed but OBP. Grady brought that. Until another lineup option came available there was (and still is) no reason to move him down in the lineup.

3. What mystifies me also is how folks think Grady was 'overqualified' for the leadoff position. Look, having power to go with the OBP and speed wasn't, and isn't, a bad thing. It was a blessing. We just watched the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of baseball get inducted to the HOF, and you know why he was great? Because he had power to go with his speed and crazy-sick OBP skills. If you don't like Sizemore in the leadoff spot, you might as well be saying that you thought Rickey Henderson was a pile of suck.

4. The Indians, likewise, finally have a player with a power deficiency suitable for the standard of the leadoff spot. Hooray. However, even if you only follow my two simple rules you moves down 4 spots. Back to my first point- best hitters first and lefty/righty. Asdrubal is a superior hitter and a switch hitter, so he goes 2nd. Choo hits 3rd, as he is Grady with the ability to hit for average. That means LaPorta has to hit 4th to break up the lefties. So now you just went from Sizemore getting the most ABs on the team to the 5th most.

5. And that is fine, having Grady batting 5th. It puts speed in the middle of the lineup. But it just emphasizes my point- complaining about Sizemore in the leadoff spot is and was picking nits. The team wasn;t losing anything having him there, they were only benefiting.

6. Now to Marte. He looks like he has settled in a a viable bench option for next year according to Pluto, and I like that. He gives the club some pop off the bench, at least the kind of pop I was hoping Chris Gimenez could have brought.

7. Another player who is going to benefit the team off the bench is the guy Marte got benched for- Trevor Crowe. This team has needed speed off the bench for years, and he can be that guy. About time they get some return for a 1st rounder.

8. As for Marte's benching, well, he was struggling mightily this month. A .571 OPS is a .571 OPS, regardless of sample sizes. Since coming back from Wedge's benching, Marte has been scorching. If I wanted to, I could say that Wedge's strategy worked.

9. The Indians broadcast last night brought up some interesting #s- Andy Marte has done all of his damage this against the Os. Like to a tune of a .450+ BA, 9 RBIs and 3 of his 5 HRs. Now that is commendable and I am not saying this to detract from him- it could just be that he is streaky- but remember Jody Gerut? His rookie year #s looked very respectable. Problem was, almost a quarter of his stats (XBHs, RBIs, BBs, hits) came against the Tigers. Who were on their way to being one of the worst teams of all time that year.

The Os are one of only 4 teams in baseball worse than the Tribe right now. I am not trying to detract from Andy- a HR is a HR and a hit is a hit- but the fact that he is posting a .220 average against teams not from Baltimore bothers me. Just something to keep in mind when thinking that dumping Peralta is an obvious move.

 

[di0p]

Yeah, I noticed that as well. I've got to say that I have lost a great deal of respect for Hoynes this season. He really tells it like it ain't. Why in the world would you leave Grady in the leadoff spot with young stud Brantley in waiting? Makes no sense at all.

These newspaper "opinion" guys make there name and career off people talking about them. In my eyes, Hoynes, Shaw, etc. are like mini Skip Bayless'. They are just going to say whatever they can to get people talking about their articles and stories. Even though none of us seem to like what Hoynes wrote, here we are talking about it and giving it more publicity. I doubt these guys even believe half the crap they write, I wouldn't doubt they just think of the most unpopular opinion and write it half the time.

 

[fudd]

I hate Jhonny Peralta. I wish I could contribute more to the discussion. Jhonny is a below average hitter and fielder that doesn't hustle and is not a leader. Why do we still have him?

 

[Gunther]

These newspaper "opinion" guys make there name and career off people talking about them. In my eyes, Hoynes, Shaw, etc. are like mini Skip Bayless'. They are just going to say whatever they can to get people talking about their articles and stories. Even though none of us seem to like what Hoynes wrote, here we are talking about it and giving it more publicity. I doubt these guys even believe half the crap they write, I wouldn't doubt they just think of the most unpopular opinion and write it half the time.

Though I agree that some people write anything to generate discussion, I don't entirely agree with your point in this case. Hoynes has been around the block as PD Beat Reporter for the Tribe long enough to know what he is printing. Actually, I think we may have unearthed a mini-controversy for next season.

What is intriguing to me is that Pluto and Hoynes seem to disagree, since they are both on the same staff (Plain Dealer). One is their senior sports writer and one is their beat reporter for the Tribe. Typically, they will not print conflicting opinions on high-profile matters (at least without appropriate pre-posting confab and spin).

 

[DougHeil]

I hate Jhonny Peralta. I wish I could contribute more to the discussion. Jhonny is a below average hitter and fielder that doesn't hustle and is not a leader. Why do we still have him?

.... because no one else wants him.....

 

[DougHeil]

Though I agree that some people write anything to generate discussion, I don't entirely agree with your point in this case. Hoynes has been around the block as PD Beat Reporter for the Tribe long enough to know what he is printing. Actually, I think we may have unearthed a mini-controversy for next season.

What is intriguing to me is that Pluto and Hoynes seem to disagree, since they are both on the same staff (Plain Dealer). One is their senior sports writer and one is their beat reporter for the Tribe. Typically, they will not print conflicting opinions on high-profile matters (at least without appropriate pre-posting confab and spin).

I had heard that Hoynes gets incentives from the Indians for being the beat reporter. I know they both work for the Plain Dealer, but I do think it's in Hoynes best interest to not piss of the FO too often. You said that it's rare Pluto and Hoynes write something different this controversial. Are you sure about that? I remember reading in the past a few times where they didn't agree with things.

In this case; Pluto is on the money and Hoynes is way out in left field. In fact; he's sitting up there with the bongo/drummer boy under the scoreboard.

 

[Gunther]

I had heard that Hoynes gets incentives from the Indians for being the beat reporter. I know they both work for the Plain Dealer, but I do think it's in Hoynes best interest to not piss of the FO too often. You said that it's rare Pluto and Hoynes write something different this controversial. Are you sure about that? I remember reading in the past a few times where they didn't agree with things.

In this case; Pluto is on the money and Hoynes is way out in left field. In fact; he's sitting up there with the bongo/drummer boy under the scoreboard.

Well, I've noticed one thing about Pluto since he went to the PD: he tends to defer to the beat reporter (when interviewed) rather than state an opinion on the fly - which is the right thing to do. I think Pluto and Hoynes stay in the same general ballpark most of the time. Hoynes doesn't give his opinion very often, because as beat reporter that is not his job, but when he does, I think he and Pluto are pretty close. Weird that they would disagree on something as big as the leadoff hitter for next season.

 

[Real Deal]

Wherever Wedge goes i hope Peralta follows. The Peralta experience has ended here, he's a lazy bum. Most of us can play defense better than him and he's a pro, that is sad. Not to mention he isnt clutch, he chases pretty much everything and he has no discipline at the plate what so ever.

The only thing I remember Peralta of is when he hit a 3 run homer against the Redsox in game 4, I think it was game 4 but that homer was exciting.