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The Indians have done more high-fiving after games the first half of the season than expected. (Photo: AP) |
81 down, 81 to go
With the conclusion of Saturday's game with the Reds the Indians stand at 44-37 at the midway point of the season. If they keep up the first half pace and duplicate that in the second half, they will win 88 games this year.
While it is technically the halfway point, the All Star break is often celebrated as the true halfway point even though teams typically have played close to 90 games by then. Even so, with a week to go before the All Star break, who would have thought going into the season that the Indians would be where they are right in first place?
The Indians were a boatload of fun from the start of the season through the middle of May when they got off to a hot 30-15 start. And yes, they have been frustrating to watch since mid-May to today where they are 14-22 since that hot start.
But this team looks to be in it for the long haul so long as they do not continue to be riddled with injuries to the lineup. If they can avoid any more injuries to the lineup and find a veteran bat or two in a July trade, they can make some noise this year.
It all comes down to the pitching, and the Indians have a lot of it. As long as you have good, solid pitching you are always going to be in almost every game. Even with all of the lineup issues the Indians have at the moment, they can draw from their strength which is a solid, young rotation and a dynamite bullpen.
The Indians have three young starters in right-handers Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin, and Carlos Carrasco who are proving to be very effective, good starters now and into the future for the organization to build around. If right-hander Fausto Carmona can ever get himself straightened out the Indians have a very formidable four-some to ride the rest of the season and potentially into the playoffs.
Right-hander Mitch Talbot does a solid job as the fifth man in the rotation, but the Indians have lots of options ready to replace him or anyone else who gets hurt with talented starters in waiting at Triple-A Columbus such as lefties Scott Barnes and David Huff and righties Jeanmar Gomez and Zach McAllister. With right-hander Alex White on the shelf, the Indians have a total of ten Major League quality starters at their disposal, something that is simply unheard of.
The bullpen has been simply electric with the likes of Joe Smith, Tony Sipp, Rafael Perez, Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez shutting down teams late in games. Also Chad Durbin and Frank Herrmann have both been more effective of late in middle relief. On top of that the Indians have several promising bullpen arms waiting in Triple-A Columbus such as right-handers Josh Judy, Zach Putnam, and C.C. Lee as well as left-hander Nick Hagadone.
As we gear up for the second half of the season, the Indians are armed and loaded to make a strong push to the finish.
Credit where credit is due
The re-emergence of the Indians this year and the incredible amount of pitching depth they have built up is a testament to the good work done by former GM Mark Shapiro and current GM Chris Antonetti. The first "plan" under Shapiro worked pretty well as they built a pretty good rotation during their first rebuild which started back in 2002, and it appears they may be building a better, deeper pitching staff during their current rebuild that started in 2008.
Several of those tough moves that Shapiro and Antonetti had to make together over the past few seasons are starting to pay off as trades where they parted with the likes of C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, Mark DeRosa, and Casey Blake have all produced key contributors to this year's team such as Michael Brantley, Matt LaPorta, Carlos Santana, Carlos Carrasco, Justin Masterson, Chris Perez, and Lou Marson.
Their draft's and international signings since 2008 are also bearing more fruit as Alex White, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Cord Phelps have all made it to the big leagues this year. Even more players from the 2008 and 2009 drafts and international signings are expected to arrive soon as Zach Putnam, Jason Kipnis and C.C. Lee are expected to arrive soon.
Shapiro and Antonetti often catch the ire of Tribe fans because they traded Sabathia, Lee and others, but they did not trade those players because they wanted to. They did it because they had to. Trust me, if they could have kept them and given them the money those players were seeking they would have done it in a heartbeat. So goes the life as a mid-to-small market general manager.
That having been said, the Indians now have a foundation to build upon where they have a good young nucleus in Cleveland, lots of talent emerging and developing in the minors, and a strong draft philosophy that is producing impact players. From here on out they should be in the thick of things in the AL Central and in the postseason chase for the next several years thanks to the good work the past few years by Shapiro, Antonetti and the rest of the front office.
Loss of Choo could force move
The Indians learned on Tuesday that they are going to be without star right-fielder Shin-Soo Choo for eight to ten weeks as he recovers from surgery to his broken left thumb. The surgery was performed on Tuesday by Dr. Thomas Graham at the Cleveland Clinic where he openly reduced and internally fixated the fracture. The injury occurred when he was hit by a pitch on Friday June 24 in San Francisco.
The loss of Choo for what looks like at least until the beginning of September will be a tough one to overcome for the Indians. He has been in a funk all season hitting just .244 with five homers, 28 RBI, and a .687 OPS in 72 games, but he has a history of consistent performance and the feeling was that he would turn it around in the second half and help lead an offensive charge. Prior to the injury he appeared to be turning things around at the plate and gaining confidence to make that charge.
For now the Indians are going to platoon Travis Buck and Austin Kearns in right field; however, there is no doubt that the club is going to actively seek a short term option on the trade front to fill in for Choo's absence for most of the rest of the season. The Indians could kick the tires on a guy like Jerad Head or Chad Huffman in Triple-A Columbus, but neither option appears like it would make much difference to what the Buck-Kearns duo offer.
Do not expect a blockbuster kind of deal as the Indians do not want to mortgage the future by trading off any of their higher profile prospects, but a more middle of the road deal where they trade a mid-level prospect or two for a veteran outfielder is certainly possible. A trade to consider is something along the lines of what they did back in 2007 when they acquired Kenny Lofton from the Rangers for High-A Kinston catcher Max Ramirez. Ramirez was an interesting prospect, but not one of their top prospects, so we could see something like this again.
One player who immediately comes to mind who the Indians may target is Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur. The Indians actually had some interest this past offseason in signing him, and his right-handed bat would complement the lineup and outfield well even when Choo returns. He is not an impact player by any means, but he has a cannon in the outfield and has some power from the right side. At the least he would be a significant upgrade over Kearns and make a much more interesting platoon partner with Buck.
The debut of The Chiz
With the Indians desperate for offense and a spark to the club they called up top prospect third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall from Triple-A Columbus on Monday.
At the time of the callup Chisenhall was hitting .265 with 7 homers, 44 RBI, and .779 OPS. Those are not overly impressive numbers, but he had been hot of late where he was named the International League's Player of the Week for the week ending June 26th where in five games he hit .429 with two homers and 14 RBI. He made his Major League debut on Monday going 2-for-4 with a double and RBI, and in three games is 4-for-12 with two doubles and an RBI.
Chisenhall, 22, had been out of the lineup for about 11 days in June because of a concussion he suffered when sliding into third base and banging his head on the field back on June 11th. He had been in a slump up to that point, but the banging of the head seemed to clear the cobwebs and the time off also allowed him evaluate his play and make some adjustments in the cages and it appears to have paid off.
The callup of Chisenhall was made to add some punch to a lineup that has been inconsistent and non-productive since mid-May and was lifeless in their series with San Francisco last weekend. He will not be a savior by any means as he is not a super star caliber player, but he is a smart, solid, and consistent player and should provide much more offense now and in the future at third base than Jack Hannahan has or would.
Chisenhall is still not a finished product defensively, so there will surely be some mistakes made along the way, particularly with his throwing. But his swing is sweet and he should be a solid contributor offensively for a long time. I've often said that he will likely be somewhere between a Casey Blake (floor) and Travis Fryman (ceiling) type player. Time will tell, but for now let the Chiz Era begin!
LaPorta still out
First baseman Matt LaPorta's return to the Indians suffered a minor setback this week when the club cancelled plans to have him join the team in Cincinnati and take some batting practice before the games. He has complained of some soreness with his ankle and was unable to participate in any pre-game activities.
LaPorta is on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right ankle, an injury he sustained back on June 17th. He is eligible to come off the disabled list any day, but before doing so he will need to test it out to ensure he is healthy enough to get back on the field at a 100%.
The plan now is to have LaPorta join the team in Cleveland on Monday when they begin a four game set at home with the Yankees. Acta and his staff will evaluate him in batting practice and if he gets the all clear he could be activated any day after that. There is a chance he could also go on a minor league rehab assignment for two or three games to get him back up to speed before activating him.
Even with the All Star break a week away, it does not appear that the Indians will wait until after it to activate LaPorta. Also, since Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Akron are both off for the All Star break at the same time, there is no opportunity to send him on a minor league rehab assignment and keep him playing while the Indians are on their break.
No opt out for Johnson
Triple-A Columbus first baseman Nick Johnson's July 1st opt out clause came and went on Friday, and as of now he is still with the Indians. His July 1st opt out clause called for him to be added to the Indians 40-man roster by that date or he could elect free agency, and it appeared that he was heading to a resolution one way or another until an injury setback with his surgically repaired left wrist last weekend.
Last Saturday, Johnson slid into third base awkwardly and landed funny on his wrist which caused it to flare up on him. He sat out Sunday's game and then returned to the lineup on Monday but had to be removed after two at bats because the wrist was bothering him. He has not played since. He took some swings in the batting cage on Friday and could return to the lineup soon.
There is no question the injury setback threw the opt out clause out the window and Johnson will now stick around a little while longer in the organization and in the minor leagues. If I am not mistaken, the opt out clause is a one-time shot and by not choosing it he loses it. If that is indeed the case, then it looks like he will be around awhile longer and through the rest of the season playing in either Columbus or Cleveland. In 14 games with Columbus he is hitting .220 with no homers, one RBI and a .575 OPS.
Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. Also, his latest book the 2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is available for purchase for $20.95 to customers in the US (shipping and handling extra).
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2 comments:
How does this affect Johnson's 2012 option?
Still needs to be added to 40-man and on the active 25-man roster at some point for that option to kick in.
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