Indians Tidbits (2008 season)

[billmac91]

Originally Posted by NFBuck

Hopefully Wes Hodges makes it all a moot point.

that's true....is it realistic to think Hodges is in the show next year??

[BuckeyeMac]

Grady's up in the HR Deryby

[BuckeyeMac]

6 HR and missed 3 JUST foul

[NFBuck]

Originally Posted by billmac91

that's true....is it realistic to think Hodges is in the show next year??

He's looked good in AA this season and I look for him and LaPorta to be moved up to Buffalo before too long. With a good showing there, I'd be surprised not to see them on the roster in September. That will help gauge where they are as far as next season goes, but I think he has a decent shot at it.

[Zippercat]

Originally Posted by tsteele316

the entire appeal of peralta is that he gives you above average offensive production for the position he plays. moving him to 1st or 3rd base drastically diminishes his value overall.

If the Tribe had one of those above average 1B options, of course that would be the way to go. But, the idea here is, using the players we actually have now, to put the best 9 on the field.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Rob Oller commentary: Indians should tinker; what do they have to lose?

Monday, July 14, 2008 3:59 AM
By Rob Oller


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

CLEVELAND -- "Nice play, Lou."
During the early months of the 1939 baseball season, when his motor skills had deteriorated because of the disease that came to be named after him, Lou Gehrig would catch a routine popup or field an easy ground ball at first base and receive heartfelt attaboys from teammates.
Receiving warm pats on the back for doing the basics told Gehrig it was time to retire.
With that sad scene in mind, I issue an affectionate "nice series, Indians." Sweeping Tampa Bay is a worthy accomplishment -- Cleveland won 5-2 yesterday in Progressive Field for its fourth straight win -- but congratulating the Tribe is like applauding Gehrig for gloving a grounder. When that happens, it's time to look ahead, consider your options and make some changes.
The Indians are 41-53 and last in the American League Central, 13 games behind first-place Chicago entering the All-Star break. They preceded their success against Tampa Bay by losing 10 straight, including eight against AL Central rivals Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit. Less than a season removed from coming tantalizingly close to the World Series, the Tribe has become a spoiler -- a role previously held by the Rays. Maybe they should rename the ballpark Regressive Field?

Continued.....

[tsteele316]

Originally Posted by Zippercat

If the Tribe had one of those above average 1B options, of course that would be the way to go. But, the idea here is, using the players we actually have now, to put the best 9 on the field.

there are options. laporta could very easily end up at 1st base, especially if crowe stays healthy, or cleveland takes brantley as the PTBNL. Victor may end up seeing more time at 1st as well with shoppach doing well overall and garko being sucktastic.

cleveland's strategy is to maximize the value at each position. moving peralta to 1st or 3rd does not accomplish that.

[Brutus1]

Originally Posted by tsteele316

the entire appeal of peralta is that he gives you above average offensive production for the position he plays. moving him to 1st or 3rd base drastically diminishes his value overall.

Peralta should change his name to Sam because he's a butcher. He's by far, the worst defensive shortstop in the Major Leagues. His offensive production is no where near as good as his defense is bad. He's got the range of a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest. He sucks!!!

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

Lee works two scoreless innings in All-Star start

Posted by Paul Hoynes July 15, 2008 21:49PM

Categories: Indians
Kathy Willens/Associated PressCliff Lee was his dominating self in Tuesday's All-Star Game, striking out three National Leaguers in the first two innings at Yankee Stadium.

New York -- It was two and out for Indians left-hander Cliff Lee at tonight's 79th All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. After pitching a 1-2-3 first inning, Lee gave up a harmless single to Chipper Jones in the second to finish his night of work. Lee started the second by retiring Albert Pujols on a grounder to third. After Jones singled to center, Matt Holliday grounded out to first and Ryan Braun went down swinging.
Lee, 12-2 in the first half, struck out three in two innings.
"I just took it as another start," Lee said. "I may have been more amped because of the hitters I was facing. I was just hoping for good things to happen and they did.
"I told [catcher] Joe Mauer, 'I'll throw whatever you call.' I shook him off once. That was the fastball to Chase Utley. I threw it on the black and struck him out."

Continued......

[tsteele316]

Originally Posted by Brutus1

Peralta should change his name to Sam because he's a butcher. He's by far, the worst defensive shortstop in the Major Leagues. His offensive production is no where near as good as his defense is bad. He's got the range of a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest. He sucks!!!

actually, peralta is 12th in total defense for SS, which encompasses range factor, and 10th in fielding % for guys that have started more than 40 games at SS.

he's not omar at SS but he's hardly a butcher. His offense at the position makes up for his lack of range in the field.

of all the holes on this team right now, Peralta at SS isn't close to the top.

[LitlBuck]

While I agree with your latter two statements, I disagree with your statistical one. How could total defense encompass "range". Either you get to the ball or you don't. In addition, you cannot judge fielding percentage without looking at the number of chances or great plays that a guy might make. Also, a guy with a poor first baseman might have more throwing errors. I just think fielding percentages are very overrated.

[tsteele316]

Originally Posted by LitlBuck

While I agree with your latter two statements, I disagree with your statistical one. How could total defense encompass "range". Either you get to the ball or you don't. In addition, you cannot judge fielding percentage without looking at the number of chances or great plays that a guy might make. Also, a guy with a poor first baseman might have more throwing errors. I just think fielding percentages are very overrated.

fine. Peralta's zone rating is also 5th in the AL. His score would put him 6th in the NL.

so, no matter what fielding measure you want to use, Peralta is in the middle for the SS position.

So, pick your metric, the outcome is the same. Peralta is middle of the road defensively for shortstops.

[LitlBuck]

Originally Posted by tsteele316

fine. Peralta's zone rating is also 5th in the AL. His score would put him 6th in the NL.

so, no matter what fielding measure you want to use, Peralta is in the middle for the SS position.

So, pick your metric, the outcome is the same. Peralta is middle of the road defensively for shortstops.

I have no reason to distrust your information but I just find that amazing. JP in the top five in zone coverage for a SS.

[tsteele316]

Originally Posted by LitlBuck

I have no reason to distrust your information but I just find that amazing. JP in the top five in zone coverage for a SS.

that only encompasses "qualified SS", or your every day guys in the AL. There are maybe 2 or 3 guys that may be higher if they got more PT there, however, all of those guys have a lower fielding %, substantially lower as a matter of fact, than peralta.

the bottom line is that for every day SS's, Peralta's fielding isn't anywhere near as bad as people make it out to be. He's middle of the road, which given his offense, makes him pretty valuable at his position.

[LitlBuck]

PD

<H3>Indians Insider: Reshuffled clubhouse greets Cabrera upon infielder's return

Posted by Joe Maxse July 17, 2008 19:53PM

Categories: Indians
Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer

Asdrubal Cabrera returns to the big-league club looking to sharply improve upon his .184 batting average during the first two months of the season.

Cleveland -- Asdrubal Cabrera will be with the Indians when they open the second half of the season Friday night in Seattle.
The young second baseman, sent to Class AAA Buffalo on June 9, was with the club when they went through a late-afternoon workout at Progressive Field on Thursday. Of course, a lot has changed since Cabrera was optioned to the minors.

While Cabrera, 22, never has much to say, he was probably wondering what happened to all the familiar faces. The injuries, release of closer Joe Borowski and trade of CC Sabathia took care of that.

Continued

</H3>