Indians, White Sox Battle to 16-16 Stalemate in Slugfest
If I had been able to watch yesterday’s Spring Training contest between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, I would probably say it was the strangest game I’d ever seen. Having tuned in for Tom Hamilton’s radio broadcast, though, I can declare it was the weirdest game I’d ever heard.
The Tribe and Pale Hose (playing as a split squad) combined for 32 runs on 39 hits while allowing 10 walks and committing five errors. The game consisted of 106 plate appearances—more than double the minimum required for a nine-inning game (52).
A strong wind was blowing towards left field in the dry desert air. That was good news for the hitters who got to play home run derby, but, as Cleveland starter Mitch Talbot discovered, it was a bad day to be a breaking-ball pitcher.
The Indians jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first thanks to consecutive singles by Ezequiel Carrera, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Travis Hafner to start the game and Nick Weglarz’ two-run homer. The White Sox responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Tribe made it 6-2 with Luis Valbuena’s two-run shot and Matt LaPorta’s RBI single in the second.
Things got out of hand in the bottom of the second, when Chicago got 12 at-bats against Talbot and Jess Todd and scored seven runs, all of which were charged to Talbot. It was a bad day for the 27-year-old righty, who gave up nine earned runs with six hits, two walks, and a pair of homers in 1.2 innings.
After three innings—which took nearly three hours—the Indians had put two more runs up the scoreboard, but by the end of the fourth the White Sox were up, 13-8.
Heading into the eighth inning, the score was 14-10. After a Delvi Cid RBI single and a Luis Valbuena three-run bomb in the top half of the frame, the game was briefly tied, 14-14, but the White Sox promptly answered with two more runs.
The Tribe came back in the top of the ninth, with Cord Phelps’ single and Juan Apodaca’s double knotting the score at 16-16, and when the White Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the inning, the game was declared a tie—much to the chagrin of Hamilton.
Valbuena was the clear MVP for Cleveland, going 2-for-5 with two homers, a walk, three runs scored, and five RBI. Weglarz and Carerra also had big games; the former hit 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, and three RBI, while the latter went 3-for-5 with a pair of walks.
There wasn’t much to like pitching-wise for the Indians, but Doug Mathis and Vinnie Pestano deserve some credit for being the only pitchers to keep the White Sox from scoring over a combined three innings of work.
Who Should Be Cleveland Indians’ Opening Day Third Baseman?
A number of young players are expected to play major roles with the Cleveland Indians in 2011. Michael Brantley should get first crack at left field. Matt LaPorta will get a long look at first base. Jason Donald and Jayson Nix will get extended opportunities in the infield, and Carlos Carrasco should have a rotation spot locked down by Opening Day.
There’s been no such love for third baseman Jared Goedert. J-Go (I sure hope that name catches on) hit .283/.358/.532 with 27 homers and 83 RBI in 125 games split between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus in 2010. And yet, the best the Indians seem willing to offer him for the coming season is an audition in Spring Training—the Tribe’s pursuit of free agents like Nick Punto and Jorge Cantu to hold down the hot corner until top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall is ready (possibly as soon as this season) shows a striking lack of confidence in the organization’s top home run hitter last year.
Should Goedert get a chance at a big-league job? The stats say yes. Using Jeff Sackmann’s Minor League Equivalency calculator to convert Goedert’s 2010 Triple-A numbers, it becomes clear that the Indians could have used his bat last year. His estimated batting average (.233) isn’t pretty, but that’s missing the point. He makes up for his poor projected on-base skills (.304 OBP) with excellent power (.456 SLG). His .219 ISO would have him ahead of names like Adrian Gonzalez (.213), Ryan Braun (.197), and Vladimir Guerrero (.196).
Goedert’s estimated .756 OPS makes him look like a solidly above-average hitter. Using the crude-yet-telling method of comparing their OPSes, he’s a clear upgrade over his main in-house competition for playing time at third base: Jayson Nix (.676) and Luis Valbuena (.531). But OPS has its flaws, and it says nothing about defense—at which Goedert is, by all accounts, atrocious—so in order to get a handle on his value, we have to dig a little deeper.
Checking the Hot Stove: Updates on All the Cleveland Indians’ Offseason Trade Rumors
It’s been a real snoozefest of an offseason for the Cleveland Indians. Four months after Michael Brantley grounded out to end the Tribe’s 2010 season, the Indians have signed just one major-league free agent and haven’t made a single trade. Cleveland fans weren’t expecting the team go on a shopping spree this winter, but still, things have been eerily quiet.
Fortunately, we Tribe fans have had plenty of rumors to get excited about in the absence of actual deals. Here’s a list of all the as-yet-unresolved gossip we’ve heard this offseason, with updates about where things stand. (more…)
MLB Trade Rumors: What are the Cleveland Indians Up To?
It’s been a relatively quiet offseason for the Cleveland Indians, who have yet to make any new trades or sign any big-league free agents. But that’s not to say the Indians haven’t been providing fodder for the MLB Hot Stove.
Here’s a recap of what we’ve heard over the last few weeks:
-Teams are calling about Fausto Carmona, who apparently is one of—if not the—most asked-about starters on the trade market. The Rangers are probably the most likely suitors if they miss out on Zack Greinke, but last week I speculated that the Yankees, Nationals, Brewers, and Reds could also be fits.
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-Speaking of trading pitchers, the Boston Red Sox would “love” to reacquire Justin Masterson, who they sent to Cleveland in the 2009 Victor Martinez deal. The problem: Boston sees him as a late-innings reliever, while the Indians brass still thinks he has the stuff to be a successful starter. If he’s worth less to the Red Sox than he is to Cleveland, it’s unlikely that Boston would be able to put together a satisfactory offer—especially after the Adrian Gonzalez trade depleted Boston’s farm system.
-Boston has also been connected to Tribe relievers Rafael Perez and Joe Smith.
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-There’s been talk of a possible extension with Shin-Soo Choo, but as far as we know there hasn’t been any real progress on that front. Cleveland’s best player could be hard to lock up given that Choo’s agent, the infamous Scott Boras, has little confidence in the Indians organization.
-The Indians are known to be connected to free agent third baseman Nick Punto, but we haven’t heard anything since his “meaningful negotiations” with the team at the Winter Meetings. Punto would be a fantastic fit for the Tribe, even with Adam Everett already on board.
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-While reports differ on whether the Tribe is actually pursuing him or not, the Indians are watching former Cleveland ace Bartolo Colon‘s progress in the Dominican Winter League. It’s hard to imagine him getting a guaranteed contract since he hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since July 2009, but he could land a minor-league deal with a chance to win a spot on the roster in Spring Training. Pure speculation on my part, but could Colon be a fit in the bullpen?
-We heard at the Winter Meetings that the Mariners were eyeing Tribe infielder Luis Valbuena. No word on that since, though.
-The Indians were among several teams to be interested in outfielder Fred Lewis, who was non-tendered by the Blue Jays last month. Lewis, 30, hit .262/.332/.414 in 2010.
UPDATE: The Indians made their first Major League signing Monday, agreeing to a one-year, $1.3 million deal with Austin Kearns. Last month, we reported that he had been seen mingling with front office bigwigs and touring the clubhouse at Progressive Field.
Poll: Will the Indians Make a Move at the Winter Meetings?
With the Winter Meetings more than half over, it’s been a relatively quiet week for Cleveland so far.
The Indians have been connected to free agents Nick Punto, Adam Everett, Fred Lewis, and even Bartolo Colon, and are reportedly in talks to trade Lis Valbuena. But the only transactions the Indians have made in the last few days were signing infielder Jack Hannahan and catcher Paul Phillips, but neither received a major-league contract and Hannahan was signed before the meetings started.
So here’s the question:
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If you put one of the “Yes” answers, tell us in the comments who you think it will be!
