Your 2019 Cleveland Indians

[KluberSociety]

To be a contrarian here, I like Edgar Martinez for 1995 MVP actually. Without his contributions, the Mariners would've likely been 3rd in their division instead of 1st. He was incredibly clutch during the regular season, combining for 7.58 offensive WPA (which is wins above average, not even replacement).

Major League Leaderboards - 1995 - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

www.fangraphs.com

But if we're talking about who the better player is, it was Belle. But to me "valuable" means more than just best player. Mo didn't deserve one sniff of it.

 

[BMAN]

I actually just look that very thing up. Belle lead him in every offensive category except for RBIs which the two tied

50 home runs, 50 doubles, 126 RBIs in 143 games.

Oh and .317/.401/.690

That stat line is fucking nuts

 

[Lee]

Can you imagine 94 lineup with 2019 pitching?

 

[sportscoach]

I'll never really understand your obsession with getting a right handed bat when that's always going to be the short side of a platoon scenario.

Give me another left handed bat that absolutely destroys RHP over a solid right handed bat 10 times out of 10.

You look at the other teams in the playoff hunt and the Yankees are the only one that has more than 1 left handed starting pitcher anyway.

More often than not, you're facing right handed pitching anyway so just get the best bat you can regardless of what side of the plate they hit from.

Luplow can pinch hit against lefties later in games as needed.

I want a RH bat for everyday play not as a platoon. Word of mouth from a lot of pitchers and baseball people is the fact you can have too many hitters from one side or the other. If you load up the lineup with straight left handed hitters even with a righty, since it could give the pitcher the advantage in the end since the pitcher really only has to focus on a few pitches to command and they could get into a groove that way. Having the right mix of bats in the lineup can actually make the lineup better and DH is the easiest spot in baseball to find a solid RH bat at. IF we had EE or someone like him in the lineup, we would have likely won more games this season to the tune of probably 5-6 games if not more since it could have helped Jose not press so much in the early season.

If you don't agree with my logic then so be it, but I am going off of logic that even our announcers have said over the years and comments from pro pitchers over the years have said. I am not saying over pay for a guy since we want to focus on next season/future as well, but getting a legit bat like a Mancini in this lineup, could really change the dynamic without probably hurting chemistry too much. No one would have to move positions, no one from our main rotation now would lose ABs. The only difference is we would maybe have a guy like Allen in the minors rather than on the pro team. We have currently too many lefties in this lineup and we need another RH bat. We don't have it in house at all so personally we need to find another RH bat to mix into this lineup.

 

[Derek]

Can you imagine 94 lineup with 2019 pitching?

Funny how inflated offensive numbers were back then.

Paul Sorrento hit .280/.345/.453 in '94 which equated to a 101 wRC+, which means he was basically league average.

Evan Longoria is hitting .241/.318/.446 this year in order to have a 101 wRC+.

 

[CBBI]

Interesting you chose 94 Albert over 95 Albert. His 50/50 season. Albert shouldnt be eligible for this vote. He should have won MVP in 95 over Mo. I choose 95 Albert as my pick.

94 Belle was slightly better than 95 Belle IMO. He just didn't get a full season of at-bats because of the strike. He would have done 50 2B/50 HR in 94 with a near .360 BA that year had there been no strike.

 

[MGMT]

Apparently Kluber’s session was successful. Also read he’s still “several weeks away” from a rehab assignment.

 

[chuck0609]

Apparently Kluber’s session was successful. Also read he’s still “several weeks away” from a rehab assignment.

I assume the hope is he is full go back with the team in early September. If they can get him 3-5 starts before the playoffs (yes I’m assuming they will catch the Twins now- lol), what else does he need?

 

[bushwick_bill]

Lloyd on 92.3 the fan and his points were as follows:


"Players feel like they are in this alone as no one is showing up for games and the moves management made this offseason. Have a FU mentality.
Kept going back to the Indians not bringing back Brantley.
Indians offense can not compete with the Astros or the Yankees.
Clubhouse is pushing they need more and don't take away, players don't care about long term, saving money etc. This is why you have Tito if they make trades to help with the players.
Indians are 4 games out of first place and are show casing Bauer and Hand and it makes sense..."

 

[Real Deal]

Dolanz gonna Dolan

 

[BMAN]

I didn’t realize Lloyd covers the Indians now and has sources.

 

[MGMT]

How do you showcase a starting pitcher?

“Yo Trevor, if you could fan 10 tonight we’d really appreciate it.”

 

[Urban]

Since Mercado was called up on May 14, the Indians have scored 293 runs in 55 games (5.33 runs/game) and are 34-21. Through the first 40 games of the seasons, the Indians were only averaging 3.52 runs/game

In that same span (May 14-present), the Astros have scored 281 runs in 56 games (5.02 runs/game) and are 34-22. Yankees have scored 335 runs in 55 games (6.09 runs/game) and are 38-17

So yeah, a lot of those Indians games were vs. cupcakes and while there is more talent and more household names in those lineups, I just don't see how the Indians can't compete with either of these teams in a series. It's freaking baseball, this isn't Pistons vs. Bucks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Boston scored 100 more runs than the Indians in 2016 and the Indians swept them

And agree with @MGMT , how exactly are the Indians showcasing Trevor Bauer or Brad Hand? Trevor starts every 5th day like every other pitcher in the league and Brad Hand is used in save situations, like any other closer on a decent team in the league

Don't care for Lloyd's Indians coverage. Just surface level generalizations

 

[Kevalier]

Since Mercado was called up on May 14, the Indians have scored 293 runs in 55 games (5.33 runs/game) and are 34-21. Through the first 40 games of the seasons, the Indians were only averaging 3.52 runs/game

In that same span (May 14-present), the Astros have scored 281 runs in 56 games (5.02 runs/game) and are 34-22. Yankees have scored 335 runs in 55 games (6.09 runs/game) and are 38-17

So yeah, a lot of those Indians games were vs. cupcakes and while there is more talent and more household names in those lineups, I just don't see how the Indians can't compete with either of these teams in a series. It's freaking baseball, this isn't Pistons vs. Bucks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Boston scored 100 more runs than the Indians in 2016 and the Indians swept them

And agree with @MGMT , how exactly are the Indians showcasing Trevor Bauer or Brad Hand? Trevor starts every 5th day like every other pitcher in the league and Brad Hand is used in save situations, like any other closer on a decent team in the league

Don't care for Lloyd's Indians coverage. Just surface level generalizations

I wish we still could use the “winner” rating because this post is absolutely spot-on.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

If a reporter states the players feel like they're in this on their own, that reporter is full of shit. If they felt like the ownership wasn't holding up their end of the bargain? I could buy that nuance. But to claim that a player doesn't feel like at least Tito is with them? Honestly, I appreciate your basketball coverage, but fuck you for this shit piece Lloyd.

Beef about not retaining Brantley? He left. He didn't want to be here. How do I, a casual fan, know this and you don't?

I didn't know "offense" was how we compete.

I guarantee we don't move Bauer or Hand unless it's for a fucking haul--a haul that improves our chances of winning in the next three postseasons.