Inside the Numbers: Indians lineup could be strong in 2012

Jason Kipnis (Photo: AP)The Indians acquisition of Casey Kotchman gives an answer (unsatisfactory to some) to the off-season-long question: Who’s on first?But what does this move spell out for the rest of the roster? Presumably, Kotchman will be given the chance to play 1B on an everyday basis and Matt LaPorta (proud owner of one remaining option) will be asked to compete in Columbus for ABs (Mills and Canzler will be part of that curious logjam, too).Let’s assume that Casey...

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Tribe Happenings: Chisenhall may start season in minors

Barring some injuries, it looks like Chisenhallis ticketed for the minors (Photo: AP). Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Indians notebook… Chisenhall’s no sure thing I’ve heard a lot of discussion that one of the position battles that bears watching this spring is at third base between Lonnie Chisenhall and Jack Hannahan. While it is technically true that the third base starter has yet to be determined, the position battle Chisenhall is involved with is not...

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Reviewing the Indians offseason

Grady Sizemore (Photo: AP) This time of year, fans are bundled up in warm clothes and blankets, watching the snow fall as they anxiously await the arrival of spring training. Although Old Man Winter’s wrath will still be felt in Cleveland in mid-February, in Goodyear, Arizona, home of the Indians spring training facilities, it will be baseball season. The sound of bats hitting balls and balls hitting gloves will bring about a feeling of excitement and hope, for both...

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Offseason Spotlight: Casey Frawley

Casey Frawley (Photo: IPI) With a new baseball season upon us, it provides an opportunity for some players to wipe the slate clean. Last year’s disappointment can turn into this season’s success. That’s the approach some players are taking that are looking to rebound from a rough 2011. One of those players is infielder Casey Frawley. Frawley, 24, struggled through a disappointing 2011 campaign at High-A Kinston as he hit just .215 with 11 HR, 59 RBI, and .638 OPS in...

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In defense of a dull offseason

Slowey not Splashy Ho hum.  To the majority of the Cleveland Indians fan base, this has undoubtedly been a boring offseason.  Especially when the Tribe’s offseason is compared to that of other teams.The Miami Marlins sign Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell, while the Indians trade for a 38-year old Derek Lowe and his 5.05 ERA. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim sign Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, while the Indians resign the perpetually broken down Grady...

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Don't be so weary of the Indians' lefty-laden lineup

Kotchman not the right-handed option many were hoping for (photo: MLB) The talk of the Cleveland offseason, long before, really, has been a lack of right-handed hitters in the Indians' lineup in general, but especially a lack of power from the right side. It is no secret that exactly zero of the team's projected regular position players are strictly right-handed, as only switch-hitters, Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana, figure to be mainstays from the right side...

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Five Prospects With The Most To Prove in 2012

Cord Phelps (Photo: IPI) Being in the minor leagues is all about proving yourself, but for these five players, 2012 will be even more critical on their quest to proving that they belong in the Cleveland Indians' long-term plans. Two weeks ago, I listed the five most exciting prospects for 2012.Continuing on with this theme, now I'll take a look at the five Tribe prospects with the most to prove in 2012. Whether they're on here because of injuries, poor performance or...

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Explaining Stats: Wins Above Replacement

WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement, and replaced VORP, value over replacement player, as the go to stat for trying to figure out the overall value of a player. It is simply the number of wins a player should help his team win in comparison to what a AAA player would do if called up in place of them. The idea being that a AAA team in the majors would be historically bad winning less than 40 games. The stat combines all of the aspects of a player including defense...

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Tribe Happenings: Are the Indians going up for sale?

If the Indians are for sale, who does LarryDolan sell the team to? (Photo: AP) Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Indians notebook… To sell or not to sell First off, let me just be up front and note that before I get into any of this I am merely speculating. No one from SportsTime Ohio or the Indians has told me anything, I am simply just putting two and two together with some recent events surrounding the Indians. That having been said, things are starting to get...

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Offseason Spotlight: Kyle Blair

Photo: Lianna Holub We are about a month away from the opening of minor league camp as pitchers and catchers report March 5th and position players report March 9th. One player looking forward to reporting is right-handed pitcher Kyle Blair as he is anxious to wipe the bad taste out of his mouth from a disappointing 2011 campaign. In 24 combined appearances (14 starts) between rookie level Arizona and Low-A Lake County he went 3-5 with a 5.16 ERA, and in 82.0 innings...

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Indians sign Kotchman

Casey Kotchman The Cleveland Indians today announced that they have signed free agent first baseman Casey Kotchman to a one-year contract. He will earn $3 million in 2012 and there are incentives in his contract to earn more. The Indians have not yet announced the player that will be removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Kotchman. Kotchman, 28, played with the Tampa Bay Rays last season and finished 8th in the American League in hitting (.306) and 10th in on-base...

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The can't miss kids

Matt LaPorta (Photo: AP) These are the "can't miss kids". Players that are former members of the Top 100 Prospect club as named by Baseball America.  With over a thousand players in the minors every season, at one time these "can't miss kids" were considered the best 100 prospects going into that season and were thought to end up being at worst solid major leaguers. Each player had a pedigree and now has a few flaws which have prevented them from being major leaguers....

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A new IPI is coming

Okay, as I have been mentioning over the past several months, things are about to change in a big way with the IPI. I had planned on making this change a few months ago, but wanted to make sure it was done right and wanted to take the time to research this new venture I would be getting myself into. Sometime in the next week the Indians Prospect Insider will be getting a makeover and moving from a site hosted on a blog network (Google’s Blogspot) to an independently hosted...

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Indians' Infatuation with Yoenis Cespedes?

Yoennis Cespedes (Photo: AP) Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Bieber have more in common than you may think... Huh? Well, both were ‘discovered’ by YouTube and became instant viral icons. If you have been M.I.A. of late, you can see the showcase and the encore of the Cespedes scouting satire here. Bieber was signed by musician Usher while Cespedes is rumored to ink with one of six potential MLB clubs. Though the YouTube video made “El Talento” an international phenomenon,...

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