2021 Series #10 | Indians @ Royals | May 3-6, 2021

Sandlin has retired all 13 batters he has faced. I can't think of a Tribe rookie reliever who started this impresssively, although there may be somebody.

CDAV45 said:

In the end, if Nelson returns without anyone being injured I think it will be at Hentges' expense. Quantrill will replace him in the rotation and Nelson goes to the BP. Best guess on my part.

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This idea wouldn't be bad at all. At this point. I'm not a fan of Hentges at all.

What an amazing series by the Indians. The starters were solid, the bullpen was lights out, and there were different offensive heroes every day. The defense kind of sucks, but not so much that the offense and pitching couldn't cover it. First four-game sweep in KC in 61 years, long before the Royals arrived.

Great to see Cesar get three hits and Amed with a single and a triple. Jose had a tough series at the plate other than the game-tying home run yesterday, managing only three hits.

McKenzie had a much-needed bounce-back game. He's given up 3 hits and 8 walks in his last 7 innings. The Royals were not able to square up his pitches. He just needs to stop walking so many guys. For the season he has 26 walks in 28.2 innings.

thestatman said:

This idea wouldn't be bad at all. At this point. I'm not a fan of Hentges at all.

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As Tito pointed out, Hentges has not been on a regular five-day schedule, which they are going to put him on. Tito thinks this will help him. I want him to get at least three more starts and see how he does. The kid has awesome stuff.

Wham with the Right Hand said:

As Tito pointed out, Hentges has not been on a regular five-day schedule, which they are going to put him on. Tito thinks this will help him. I want him to get at least three more starts and see how he does. The kid has awesome stuff.

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I just think Sam needs a lot of polishing. Yes he has an electric fastball and a good breaking ball. But I don't think he has any idea were his pitches are going. I'm hoping Scott Moss can get healthy and move in.

thestatman said:

I just think Sam needs a lot of polishing. Yes he has an electric fastball and a good breaking ball. But I don't think he has any idea were his pitches are going. I'm hoping Scott Moss can get healthy and move in.

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Moss or Morgan could eventually get some MLB time this season. Morgan wasn't healthy for spring training so if he's healthy and near his career numbers, we could see him up as well.

I actually felt when the season started that the 5th spot in the rotation would be a revolving door since we need to limit how many innings the young guys get.

We could possibly go and get a rental starter for the stretch run/playoffs. I am not sure who, but it won't be a high end guy probably, just someone like a Paxton (veteran on a one year deal/last year of his contract) on a bad team. I know it wouldn't be Paxton, but someone who is healthy.

sportscoach said:

Moss or Morgan could eventually get some MLB time this season. Morgan wasn't healthy for spring training so if he's healthy and near his career numbers, we could see him up as well.

I actually felt when the season started that the 5th spot in the rotation would be a revolving door since we need to limit how many innings the young guys get.

We could possibly go and get a rental starter for the stretch run/playoffs. I am not sure who, but it won't be a high end guy probably, just someone like a Paxton (veteran on a one year deal/last year of his contract) on a bad team. I know it wouldn't be Paxton, but someone who is healthy.

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We sure could and Jon Gray would be a great target. He's pitching really well and could slide in right behind Bieber or Plesac. He's not overly expensive($7M for this season) and might be open to a reasonable extension if the fit is good between him and Cleveland, but that is nothing to be concerned with at this time. Thing is, if he is actually a target, it is probably more prudent to act ASAP in order to avoid other teams bidding on him. Get ahead of the curve for the lack of a better description. While they're on the phone working out a deal for Gray, they might as well ask whoever is running the Rockies what they want for Cron too. Solidify the rotation and 1B in one swoop.

CDAV45 said:

We sure could and Jon Gray would be a great target. He's pitching really well and could slide in right behind Bieber or Plesac. He's not overly expensive($7M for this season) and might be open to a reasonable extension if the fit is good between him and Cleveland, but that is nothing to be concerned with at this time. Thing is, if he is actually a target, it is probably more prudent to act ASAP in order to avoid other teams bidding on him. Get ahead of the curve for the lack of a better description. While they're on the phone working out a deal for Gray, they might as well ask whoever is running the Rockies what they want for Cron too. Solidify the rotation and 1B in one swoop.

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I actually don't want Gray, look at his splits... He actually pitches worse on the road than at home for whatever reason career wise. That's not a good split for a guy whose home field is Coors. The idea is right though just I wanna see a different guy.

sportscoach said:

I actually don't want Gray, look at his splits... He actually pitches worse on the road than at home for whatever reason career wise. That's not a good split for a guy whose home field is Coors. The idea is right though just I wanna see a different guy.

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How about Sonny Gray, but I don't think we could afford him.

I'll take the role of captain obvious here... but at the end of july.. when the adding veteran SP or unneeded bat w/ leadership is contemplated.. perhaps the SP should be someone who has good numbers pitching against the Yankees, A's and whoever else may be in the playoffs as a road pitcher?.. IDK if that's too obvious.. or if anyone would be available for no money..(using prospect currency)..

A few thoughts...

Harold is the soup du jour in center right now. Fun to watch, but an absolute butcher with a rag arm. He is not an answer.

I know everybody loves to talk offense, but winning with the defense we have is not gonna happen long term. We are heading into the end of the first qtr of the season, and some major decisions are gonna have to be made...esp in centerfield and at shortstop.

The lack of range at both positions is glaring. Too many grounders going thru the infield and too many balls falling in the gaps and in short centerfield. Our CFs are virtually standing at the front of the track.

If Amed is not going to play every day in center, the only legit CF on our 40 man is Mercado. If Gimenez is not gonna play SS every day, we don't have a legit MLB shortstop on our 40 man. Arias is a 21 yr old kid who has never played above A+...and doesn't even have 1300 PAs in pro ball.

There is no help in Columbus at a position of need.

Bradley has Kd six times in 13 at bats. Mercado has Kd five times in 10 at bats. Zimmer has Kd six times in 10 at bats. We saw Johnson fan four times in 9 PAs.

Chang has been around forever and has proven he can't hit. He doesn't need to go to Columbus and clog up our roster any longer. If he is gonna turn into Urshela in two years, good for him. But he isn't helping us now.

Its still very early, but this pen is beginning to look like the best pen I have ever seen in Cleveland, both in quality and in seemingly unlimited depth.

Two spots in the rotation look iffy, to put it mildly. Its gonna take a while to filter thru all the options, but the pen is so deep that it can cover things while the sorting goes on. Between TMac, Hentges, Allen, Quantrill, Mejia, and Moss its quite likely that we have the answers in house. I still think we will need most of them, anyway, to get thru 162 games. While some of them may not look good to us, they are likely to be far better than what our opponents are gonna be forced to run out there as the season wears on.

I'm wondering something. Injuries, esp to pitchers, are thru the roof to start the season. The percentage of players hitting the IL this early is record breaking.

Are we just lucky, or are we just better prepared, esp with the pitchers? If we are merely lucky, things are likely to even out. If we are better prepared, we have a big, unmeasureable, advantage.

CATS44 said:

A few thoughts...

I'm wondering something. Injuries, esp to pitchers, are thru the roof to start the season. The percentage of players hitting the IL this early is record breaking.

Are we just lucky, or are we just better prepared, esp with the pitchers? If we are merely lucky, things are likely to even out. If we are better prepared, we have a big, unmeasureable, advantage.

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I think it is way to early to count your chickens on the injury front - especially now that you have lost your starting catcher for 2 to 3 months

sportscoach said:

I actually don't want Gray, look at his splits... He actually pitches worse on the road than at home for whatever reason career wise. That's not a good split for a guy whose home field is Coors. The idea is right though just I wanna see a different guy.

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So you’re saying he’s only effective at Coors field? I don’t buy that for one second. Look at his stuff and just about every pitcher has “splits” that they could be labeled by. Maybe he pitches even better with Progressive Field as his home park.

CDAV45 said:

So you’re saying he’s only effective at Coors field? I don’t buy that for one second. Look at his stuff and just about every pitcher has “splits” that they could be labeled by. Maybe he pitches even better with Progressive Field as his home park.

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His numbers are better at Coors than on the road. Go look at them. They aren't a ton different but enough of a head scratcher to merit questioning getting him or not.

I know his numb

sportscoach said:

His numbers are better at Coors than on the road. Go look at them. They aren't a ton different but enough of a head scratcher to merit questioning getting him or not.

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ers and I think what you saying is a nothingburger. He’s inexpensive and wouldn’t require our best prospects. At least not multiple ones.